Dentures & Diaphrams

[>>>---WW---->]

Well, the time has finally come. My dentist says an upper set of dentures is just about my only option. So next Wednesday I'm getting all the uppers pulled. I know, OUCH! But what worries me the most is, "Will I be able to call elk with a diaphram call ever again"?? Or will I be thrown into the bite and blow calls?

So tell me if any of the rest of you are able to mix diaphrams & dentures and make it work. Or will I be forced to sit in a tree with Swede and a good book over a wallow or water hole.

[cnelk]

Bill
Mention your thoughts to your dentist.
I bet he can mold a built in piece of latex into your upper plate.

You will prob be really good at calling, but the conversation part may have a bit of lisp...
Drinking beer may pose a problem too

In all seriousness, I know a couple gents that have no issues like you are describing

[planebow]

I just got my final lining done on my dentures. I have not tried the diaphrams yet but will in the next couple of days and see if it is possable. The roof of my dentures is very narrow compared to my mouth.

[dapper]

Now you'll have an excuse if you suck at using a diaphram!

Actually I've had dentures since I was 23. I usually suck at using diaphrams, but it might be me and not the dentures. For turkey hunting I generally stuck to slate/box calls since I wasn't that good with the diaphrams(but I never practiced as much as I have been this year for the elk hunt).
Thinking the inside of your mouth is smaller, since the upper plate takes up some space, I went looking for smaller diaphrams. I got primos mastering the art (a three pack). It includes the imperial plate double, sonic dome double and the mini sonic double. I started using the mini sonic double and it worked great for me. So I thought yes, smaller is better. But then I worked on the sonic dome double and that actually works the best out of the three for me. I still suck with the conventional imperial plate double. So I know dentures don't eliminate the use of diaphrams, you might just have to look to find out whats the best for you. Who knows what you were using may work great for you or may just need to be trimmed down.

[>>>---WW---->]

Well, I got all my uppers pulled this morning. I'm a little sore but no real pain so far. So, I decided to pop a couple of different diaphrams in my mouth and see what happens. No problem at all. That's a releaf!! So at least I know I'll still be able to use my calls, even if I have to pull my dentures out and put them in my pocket to do it. LOL!

I'll be getting a temporary plate in about two weeks and the permanent one in six weeks. I'll let you all know how things work out then.

[planebow]

I tried my reed this morning and I could not get it to work with or without my dentures. Looks like I need to start looking for an external call and start practicing.

[ElkNut1]

Try harder & be persistent with the reeds guys, do not give up so easily! If all fails then seriously consider an external bugle.

A year ago I had some teeth work done & was having a couple of top teeth straightened, I had to have a plastic retainer installed that was lower than my pallet & very narrow, on top of that my dentist told me I had one of the narrowest palates he'd ever seen. I've always had to really play with diaphragms to get a decent fit without a retainer but managed OK with lots of persistence & practice. 6-7 years ago I started using the Mellow Yellow, Raging Bull & others like these two & what a difference it helped, I'd never called better! They're great for the average to narrow mouth or palate.

With the retainer in place I asked the dentist how this compared to having dentures? He said in my case it was very similar because of how low the retainer sat in my pallet. I asked him this because I wanted to know how guys felt that had asked me so many times if they could use a mouth reed with dentures? With it in place I tried different reeds, at first I felt it was nearly impossible to get the reed to fit I just had a tough time getting it to seal against a partial plastic pallet. So I moved the reed a hair forward closer to my top front teeth, it felt a bit strange but within a few minutes I could get out some decent cow sounds, within minutes I could make just about any elk sound with the reed. The Mellow Yellow & All Star worked very good for me. If the calls would have been wider models it would have been difficult at best.

So if you have dentures don't give up to easy, play with position, use a narrow diaphragm & practice with the attitude "you can do it" -- Worked for me! (grin)

ElkNut1

[planebow]

The reed that I tried was the all star, will keep trying for a few days and maybe do some triming and see if I can make some noise.

[ElkNut1]

I wouldn't trim it, it's already real short & you will most likely lose the seal. Push the reed more forward & make it work! (grin)

ElkNut1