Metal Mouth Message Board

I got my Herbst appliance a week ago and I still can't chew solid foods very well! The appliance moved my jaw forward, and since I'm correcting a deep bite my back teeth no longer meet with the appliance in.

My ortho said that my back teeth should be able to bite together again within a week or two but they don't seem to have moved at all, they're still quite far from meeting! I'm so tired of having to eat the same soft foods all the time. . . and I'm hungry!

I also wonder if this is because I clench my teeth at night (well, I'm pretty sure I do, I wake up with sore teeth and jaws but I'm not sore during the day). Maybe I'm preventing the Herbst from working?! Unfortunately, they don't really make mouthguards for Herbsts, I have to take the appliance apart (take the rods out of the tubes by opening my mouth wide) just to wear my rugby mouthguard, which is made for braces (I never have my rugby mouthguard in for more than 1-2 hours at a time, it's only a couple times per week).

I know that a lot of people think that the Herbst doesn't really work for adults, but I thought it still move teeth, it just couldn't grow your jaw?

Just thought I'd complain a bit. . . I figured you guys might understand. . .

Having not been required to wear an Herbst I can't comment except to say hang in there! I'd also say do your best to push the envelope on what you can eat...the more you use your teeth likely the faster they will do what they are supposed to.

sallymonster, that's what I have read too, that appliances for adults can't really affect jaw growth but can affect tooth positioning.

I did read that your bones continue to grow and/or change shape even in adulthood, but not nearly to the degree that they would when you're a child or teen (unless you have some kind of growth disorder).

Hopefully you will see improvement in your bite soon. Do you take photos ? I find them the best way to gauge progress, sometimes movement I can't detect looking in a mirror I can detect by comparing photos. I think you are going to be very surprised that day some of your back teeth meet.

Sally, I never had an appliance but the first 4 - 6 weeks after I had my braces put on, I couldn't chew either because my teeth weren't meeting; the lower brackets hit my top teeth. I understand how you feel getting bored with the foods you are eating and feeling hungry all the time. I had a lot of ramen noodles, yogurt shakes, pastina and sweet potatoes. If you like fish, it's pretty easy to eat. I was ecstatic when I finally figured that out! Hope you are doing better and don't worry, they will eventually move into place. Good luck!

Thanks so much for your support, guys. I just needed a good whine. . .

Things have gotten a little better. . . my molars finally started moving a tiny bit, and I could eat most solid foods as long as they were not very chewy. Unfortunately, a couple pieces of Herbst appliance broke off today (I think it came unscrewed, because the molar band it was attached to is still there). I was only eating bratwurst in a bun while working at an Oktoberfest celebration! And then it broke a couple hours later, randomly! So it's back to soft food for me until Monday, and hopefully this won't set back my current teeth movement. . .

Oh yeah, and this is the first time I've ever broken any orthodontic appliance, and I've had brace for over seven months.