I had a couple of friends who had their jaws wired (for orthodontic reasons) when I was in high school. They had to carry wire cutters with them just in case they vomited. Better safe than sorry. That was back in the late 80s. Do docs still recommend that?

P.S. I took an ASL night class years ago. I loved it. I wish I had some friends I could practice with because I'm very rusty and there's still so much I would like to learn. It's such a beautiful, expressive language. Have you ever read "Island of the Color Blind" by Oliver Sacks? (He's one of my favourite authors.) There's a section in that book about the sign language culture that used to exist on Martha's Vineyard. It's fascinating.