My ortho has only mentioned some exercises which I do not think will work. [/quote]
If you are serious about correcting your tongue placement, you may want to consult a speech therapist. You can ask your ortho if he works with one. If not, you can contact your local university or check the phone book. This person can work with you to adjust your tongue posture--it's part of the training to become a speech path A crib may keep you from tongue thrusting during treatment, but this does not necessarily mean you will automatically place your tongue correctly.
I have an open bite, too. So far, I have had lower braces on for one year and upper braces on for six months. During the time that I had only my lower braces, I also a rapid palate expander device (which was the worst part of my treatment so far). I had SARPE surgury about a year ago, and then had the RPE removed six months after. Right now, everything is going really easy with the braces which I often forget I have on and hardly any pain. The next big step of my treatment will be surgury on (I think) only my upper jaw to correct my open bite. Nobody seems to know when exactly my surgury will be, but I really hope that it is in the summer because I am starting univerisity in the fall. I can't imagine what it would be like to have surgery in the midst of adjusting to university life, but that will most likely be the case. I'm really worried about the surgery because I had a bad experience with SARPE (infection, swelling wouldn't go down, depressed, etc). Anyways, I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only open-bite person here. Good luck to you all with your treatments!
I have an open bite and a cross bite, and right now I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed with the thought of surgery. I just got my braces on 4/6, and I'm supposed to be having surgery on my upper jaw in about a year. My ortho also told me that I will need to have two teeth extracted right before the surgery. Does that make sense? Anyway, I'm just getting nervous about the whole thing.
This is my first reply here, I am happy to say that I also have an open-bite and cross-bite. I got this because since I was a little girl I slept with my mouth open and because the jaw bones are so soft as a child the bones took shape to the position of my mouth over the years, I still sleep with my mouth open at 35 years of age, I always wanted this done since I was a teenager, but parents coouldn't afford it. I am now married with 3 children and I have decided to treat myself. Depending on whether you are being kind of forced to to do this or whether like me you want to improve function and appearence try not to worry too much, instead look at it that you deserve to feel good about yourself and that this journey will only make you a stronger person for it. When you get closer to your surgery(couple of months)then legitimate concern will arise because it will become a sure reality. I am due in three months and just now I have let that healthy concern and anxiety come to me, however, to help adjust I stay up to date with other peoples testimonies(positive ones!!!!)and I read up on pre and post op medical websites and books, I believe that the more you know about the GIANTS in your life the easier they are to take down!!!, so for now try not to take it too seriously, but rather enjoy this time of rest and subtle change.
A crib may keep you from tongue thrusting during treatment, but this does not necessarily mean you will automatically place your tongue correctly.