Please, please read--bite plate troubles!!

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#1 Post by **ObscureFreedom** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 6:38 pm

I just got my bite plate today. At first I could barely speak normally at all. No one could understand me. Now it's still pretty bad but only my s's, j's, t's, and a few others are really troublesome. But this is my issue. It is cemented on. I am not supposed to take it off. I have only had the top braces about a month and the bottom are supposed to wait until November or December. But right now my back teeth are not touching AT ALL and my bottom teeth only hit the plate. I cannot chew anything. I almost choked on soft broth soaked bread. What am I supposed to do or eat? From what I've read people take it out to brush and eat. I'm so frustrated. Also, I grind my teeth so I have SO much extra pressure that I can't take out that I'm almost to the point of tears. Anyone else know what I can do to release the tension and what I can eat. If there's a special way I can eat real food. Anything...pasta, pizza, chicken, anything at all!! Thank you. Please respond soon.

#2 Post by **EmbraceMe** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:11 pm

I feel your pain! I posted with the same issues. I have had mine in for a week now and it is definitely a challenge. My teeth do not touch either and talking has been interesting. Mine is cemented in as well, and will probably have to have it on for at least a year, if not longer.

I honestly wish I could offer you ideas, but I have yet to find any way to eat anything solid. I can eat scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, yogurt, mac and cheese, mashed up green beans, pudding, and did manage to get down some salmon, though I think I will need to try a softer fish as it was quite difficult.

As far as speech, many people here have cited The Rainbow Passage to help you to speak with the appliance. I have found it helps a lot, and I found a couple other passages as well at this website http://www.uta.fi/FAST/AK11/arthur.html that help with speech as well.

Good luck to you. I know what you are going through. I have just had to come to terms with this is what has to be done to get the smile I have wanted my entire life, and hang in there

#3 Post by **ObscureFreedom** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:58 pm

hah yeah. My friends asked me to say "sally sells seashells by the seashore." I found it funny at first and now downright frustrating. I have to present a speech tomorrow in my speech class. I don't know what I'm going to do. Has it gotten at least a bit easier? I tried eating soft solids like a really soft burger but I almost choked. I also tried a mozzarella stick stupidly... what I didn't choke on or swallow hole, got stuck in everything. Well thank you so much for the reply. I thought maybe it wasn't as bad for other people. I hope this gets easier. I'll have it at least six months she said. Right now it seems like eating is going to be impossible.

#4 Post by **neas** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 11:36 pm

I've been wearing a removable bite plate retainer on my top teeth for 1.5 months now with fixed braces on bottomr teeth.

It was hard first day, i drooled so much i had to keep "sucking and swallowing" before i talked heh. Your mouth eventually gets used to it so you dont salviate so much.

I did what my orthodontist suggested, every night i'd read a book aloud about 10-15 pages worth. Soon made my recorrect my speech... now if i take my retainer out i find it weird to speak heh.

I do sometimes still slur my s's but only rarely. It does get better, but practice talking out aloud helps, and time helps too.

Hope you stick it out, i have mine in 24/7 pretty much except for cleaning it.

#5 Post by **cally** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:04 am

Hi,

I just got mine sawed out yesterday after almost 5 months of total misery. To compound my problems, I have myasthenia gravis, a severe neuromuscular disease which makes chewing, speaking and swallowing difficult under the best of circumstances. My teeth did not touch for months and for much of the time, the only "contact point" was one CORNER of one snaggled lower incisor---impossible to chew anything.

I minced food and had a lot of liquid meals. I was dealing with a flare up of my disease at the same time, so I had to be vigilant to keep hydrated. I didn't speak on the phone because my speech was really bad most of the summer. It was bad. I lost 10 pounds.

However, I finally got on a better medical regime in the last 2 weeks and my disease is under better control, my molars touched again and yesterday was the day I'd been dreaming of...removal. It was great and it took NO TIME at all to get used to having an uncovered palate again.

Hang in there---if I could, ANYONE can.

Cally

#6 Post by **iBorg** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:32 am

Bite plates do offer a few challenges. As for the speech issue, practice, practice, practice. Sing loud in your car when you're by yourself. You will sound worse to yourself than to other people.

The excess slavia is a product of your mouth having a foreign object in it that it thinks is food. This will go away in about a week or so.

The purpose of the bite plate is to open up your bite by allowing your molars to move in. This would not happen if they were in contact with each other. I found my bite plate makes a great substitute for my bite splint which I had for my grinding. I actually like my bite plate to help relieve the pain I have from my TMJ/grinding issues.

A bite plate you can remove is much easier when you try to eat. The only way to make a glued in one work is to cut your food up into small pieces and then use your tongue in conjunction with either your top or bottom molars.

GOOD LUCK!

Mike