Going crazy with the molars not touching

[Gilda]

My son had Herbts appliance put on a couple of days ago. Now he doesn't have one single back tooth touching so he has been chewing with his front teeth.

How long into the treatment will he have to deal with this problem? Or this will be resolved only after the treament is over? (Two years)

[thesallymonster]

I wear a Herbst appliance, my back teeth didn't touch at first either due to my deep bite. It will probably take a couple weeks before your son's back teeth come down and touch again. Only the very back molars will likely touch at first.

Then again, I have full braces with my Herbst, and I think some kids wear Herbsts without braces, so if your son doesn't have braces yet his case might be different than mine. If his back teeth don't touch within a few weeks you might want to ask your ortho.

[Monroeski]

My back teeth aren't touching right now, either, mostly due to my bite plate (though even when I take it out, my front upper teeth rest on one of my front lower brackets, so I can't close my jaw then, either). I think I've always generally just been a very tolerant person, and it has only been 3 days for me, but I have just taken to not chewing fairly well. Just swallow it mostly whole, cut it into small pieces, and try to stick to soft foods so he doesn't have something hard and pointy stuck in his throat.

[bbdodger]

I have the same problem, that my molars don't touch. Thankfully, I've learned to chew crooked, so that I can saw food small enough to swallow. It has also helped me to take BIG BITES of food.

Chewing with my front teeth is hard, since that's where my teeth are the most tender from braces.

It's really hard, and there is only so much mash potatoes a person can eat before they go CRAZY!!!