Coping with severe open-bite

[mksi11]

This past year my bite opened up dramatically. The opening in my bite is around 4 mm currently, and only my very back teeth touch. When they do touch, they don't feel like they fit together at all and it's extremely uncomfortable.

My orthodontist just told me that my planned orthodontics will open my bite MORE to prepare for my surgery (with Dr. Gunson). I seriously do not know how I am going to cope with this. Speaking and eating are both very difficult already. My mouth feels uncomfortable all the time, and I have trouble keeping my lips closed. I'm also trying to go to law school right now, and it's so embarrassing and distracting.

Does anyone have tips for coping with severe open-bite long-term? Ways to make it more comfortable or to eat more easily? Any reassurance that it's not actually so bad and I'll just get used to it?

Thanks for any help

[coffeecupcakes]

I've had open bite my entire life. 7mm+

I've never had lisp/speaking issues, so it's feasible to be good at talking even if you have an open bite. If you want to speak normally, practise! Determination! As for biting through food with the front teeth, I learnt from an early age how to use my tongue and top teeth to rip/bite stuff apart. This is useful especially for things like noodles/spaghetti.

As for the lip issue, you just got to remember to close them. Or, not care about what other people think. Or explain to your friends.

All I can say is, this is for a very short part of your life. A couple of years is nothing. Try 21 years... that's long-term! Don't let it bother you, you're going to be fixing it soon and it'll be all over before you know it.

[mksi11]

Thanks so much for your reply, it is really reassuring to hear your story. If you could go 21 years with a 7mm open bite, I'm sure I'll be able to adjust.

Do you have any more advice about speaking? I can't seem to find a way to say the "sh" "ch" and "j" sounds normally without being able to bring my front teeth together.

[coffeecupcakes]

Hmm... I think some open biters compensate by using their tongue to 'plug up' the gap in their teeth.
I'm wired shut right now so it's hard to visualize/describe... Place the tip of your tongue behind the bottom of your teeth, then push your tongue forward so that your open bite gap is closed. Try making a shhh sound with that?

Basically those sounds are made by narrowing the gap that air escapes, so instead of using teeth to close the gap, use the tongue instead. You might have to contort your tongue in several different ways til you finally get the sound. When you do, just practise it over and over. The tongue muscle picks up new moves pretty fast.

Also pursing your lips/changing your lip shape might help because air can escape from the sides of your mouth. Try going from a 'sssss' and slide into a 'shhhh' sound.

Hope that gives you some ideas anyway!

[kefcorp]

oh hi coffeecups

Yeah that's basically what we do: we compensate. My speech is pretty decent, but I do have issues with biting my tongue, and speaking more than a dozen or so words in a row with clarity the entire time. Since I've had an open bite for the time my jaw was growing (from 14 on; I'm 25 now), I pretty much just adapted. I may have to re-learn everything post-surgery!

Eating is still a pain in the ass though. I can bite into a sandwich but I can't shear it completely without using my tongue to push stuff around, and food falls out of my mouth if I open my lips, and so on. My surgery's in six days so I'll only have to put up with it a liiiittle bit longer.

[mksi11]

Sliding from "s" into the "sh" seems to help a lot. I think I still need to practice though to get it to sound right.

I have the same trouble with eating. There are some foods that I just won't even try to eat anymore, like fajitas. I usually try to cut up everything with a fork and knife, even finger foods.

I wonder how much re-learning there is again after the surgery. I hope you guys can let me know if you find there is a lot of adjustment after the surgery, or if it just feels natural to have a closed bite.

[keeponsmiling]

Coffeecupcakes - you just reminded me very clearly why exactly I signed up for surgery, so thank you and best wishes for a speedy recovery. You're so right about the tongue compensating for the gap between the teeth. I'm convinced that using my tongue to help bite through foods since I was about 17 contributed to opening my bite and pushing my front teeth into a goofy position.

mksi11 - the good news about the above is that once you have braces no matter how much your tongue pushes on your front teeth, the wire will push back harder. So while many people report a worsening of their bite, there can be improvements too. In my case, because my front teeth are no longer so goofy that has already made the open bite a lot smaller. Also, braces make biting into anything messy - even without an open bite to worry about there's the issue of food getting stuck in the brackets. My advice is to continue avoiding anything that doesn't take cutlery - at least in public! The time will fly by and if you don't do this now chances are you'll end up doing it in ten years time when your bite is a lot worse and the lip incompetence has given you wrinkles across your chin (like me!). Good luck with it.

[RMF7825]

Just curious if you knew why the open bite had increased.

[coffeecupcakes]

hey kefcorp hope your surgery goes well I'm following your blog with interest~
keeponsmiling: thanks hope your recovery goes smoothly too.

Haven't thought much about relearning yet, but slightly worried I might chomp my tongue off. And in my relaxed state, in my head I feel like my mouth is open/the gap is still there... but then I look in the mirror and my teeth are shut so that is fairly odd but in a really good way

I'm guessing it'll be easier to 'relearn' if your open bite is relatively new. Must compare notes afterwards haha

[mksi11]

[quote="RMF7825"]Just curious if you knew why the open bite had increased.[/quote]

I don't know why it's increased. Dr. Gunson says it's likely idiopathic condylar resorption (although x-rays show my condyles are only slightly worn down) plus that my upper jaw curves up slightly. My chin has receded a little and my airway has narrowed.

My orthodontist seems to think it's vertical growth that wasn't corrected when I had braces as a child plus maybe tongue thrusting. I am going with Dr. Gunson's judgment obviously. Besides, I don't know how vertical growth could be suddenly affecting me at 24 years old. My bite was never open in the front as a child and I don't have a long face. Anyway the whole thing seems to be somewhat of a mystery.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and advice. Keep me updated on your recoveries if you can.