Speaking Issues - any suggestions?

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#1 Post by **ChangingBraces** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 2:53 pm

Well I got my top row of braces a month ago and just as I had figured out living & eating with those, yesterday morning I got the bottom row.
That is the least of my concern however, because I also got this tongue appliance put behind my top front teeth. It's a rolling plastic bar suspended on a thin metal bar that connects to my back teeth. It's to block my tongue from touching my teeth when I swallow (tongue pushing). It also blocks my tongue from touching the roof of of my mouth where I would make the "t", "k" & many other sounds.
I have no idea if there is a name for this particular appliance, but I do know that I probably couldnt say it...

They told me I would get "used to it"....does this mean my speech will return to normal or I will get "used" to sounding retarded with a lisp & too much spit?
For any of you who have dealt with this, how long did it take you to get "used" to it?
Also, I feel like my tongue is just going below & around the bar & still touching my teeth....does this mean it is not working & should I tell my orthodontist?

I am already a very shy, very self-conscious person (which is why I got braces...so that someday I would be comfortable with smiling), and this is greatly affecting me. I do not want to talk at all or leave my house; I feel very stupid. Work has been unbearable the past two days when I have to talk on the phone.

So, any tips on speaking clearly would be greatly appreciated!

#2 Post by **ChangingBraces** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 4:04 pm

It looks very similar to that, but the roller is wider & it is suspended by a thin metal that hooks on either side of my front molars; it does not have that other, wider metal rod part that goes behind the teeth.
I think it is pretty much the same thing though...
Thanks for passage; I will try that for sure.

#3 Post by **ChangingBraces** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 8:09 pm

Okay I really need help with this....I know it has only been 3 days but it's making me really depressed & I dont want to go anywhere or talk to anyone. Anyone who has experienced something similar, how long did it take you to speak normally again?
Is there any technique to speaking clearly or does it just happen?
I'm giving this is a week & then I am demanding it be removed if I don't sound normal by then....

#4 Post by **Braces2.0** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:52 am

I've never had this appliance, but my daughter started wearing twin blocks in May, and if you Google them you will see that twin blocks are basically two big ol' pieces of plastic in your mouth. She was having a really bad time of it for the first three days--apparently it takes at least three days for your body to realize that it doesn't have to digest this thing in your mouth and therefore it eases up on the saliva production. After a week her speech was notably improved. She is now to the point where she can even whistle again.

I think that it's possible that your speech won't be exactly as it was sans-appliance, but I think you should notice a difference in the next few days. The one thing we were told is to have her talk a LOT! I know it will feel excessively goofy, but any time you are in private you can narrate your life or something like that. The more you practice, the easier it should get. Hang in there!!