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Hello. Marie here, sixteen. and first post. =) I just got braces about 2 weeks ago. I was told that i had to wear braces for eight months, i am quite concerned about the length of time since i do not have major problems but i could use some 'frisking' as my ortho put it.
i have TMJ disorder. my jaw frequently locks while chewing. Even when i was getting braces put on, my jaw locked because of having to open my mouth really wide (he did not use any retractors) my ortho noticed and i was told that i need to raise my bite, through braces. but he didn't explain to me how that works. Can anyone please kindly explain it to me?
Sounds like you might have what is known as a deep bite, which is when the top front teeth overlap the bottom teeth in a vertical direction more than they should. So your bottom jaw (mandible) is closing too far, because it's not being placed in its ideal closing position by the top front teeth as it should be.
Because your lower jaw can't position itself correctly, this can cause painful conditions of the jaw (TMD)
There are different ways of opening up the bite. Sometimes a bite plate is worn in the roof of the mouth which stops the lower jaw from closing fully and will then allow your back teeth to extrude (come out of the gum) because they are not being bitten down on all the time. Other methods used include occlusal bonding (blobs of cement on the back teeth) or bite turbos which are worn on the backs of the top front teeth. They all have the same result - that of stopping you biting down on those back teeth and thereby letting your bite open up to its ideal position.
As Karen says, next time you go to see your ortho then ask him what he intends to use to raise your bite. 8 months sounds like a short "sentence" and that will fly by! I hope it sorts out your jaw problems.
Most of my treatment will consist of correcting my deep bite. My jaw also pops a lot, which should be corrected after I'm done. I say should because the ortho says every once in a while there are additional causes, but mostly it's caused by the jaw shifting with the deep bite and the cartilage or something moving out of place - I'm terrible at explaining it, but he drew me a nice sample picture.
My treatment is consisting of full braces for a year, with molar bonding to start off with in opening the bite.
I do have a deep bite and TMJ issues too. By the moment, my ortho is trying to correct it just with braces.
It is a little bit annoying bc. upper teeth hit lower braces all the time, and I cannot completely close the mouth. My ortho says that if some bracket pops off, she will place some bonding on my molars to prevent this. But I think that soon my teeth will not touch my lowers anymore and hopefully I will avoid more stuff in my mouth!
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Deep bite+cross bite+crowding+TMJ
full braces (ceramic) + TPA+lingual arch
estimate: 24 months
Thank you for all your replies. Is there anything else that constitutes to insistant jaw clicking/dislocation aside from a deep bite that may also need raising?
i looked into a mirror a while ago and it seems like my front teeth overlaps the lower in a normal way. My problem areas are my canines, one is bumping on the other vertically and is currently hurting.
i'd be sure to ask my ortho. 
