bite plate questions

[artsyalice]

As I posted yesterday, I'm gong to be getting braces on the 7th of June. I will be needing a bite plate. This is one of those things while at the ortho's office everyone seemed very sympathetic about which made me begin to think they must really suck.

I'm a recruiter and talk to people all day and they said this could be one of the bigger challenges I face. The thing is, I'm not sure what a bite plate even is. It was so overwhelming on the first visit I didn't think to ask more about it.

So, give it to me...what is this bite plate thing and how awful will it be? BE HONEST! I like to be prepared so I know fully what to expect.

[iBorg]

I may be the long-term wearer of a bite plate on the Forum having had one for eight months. I had one advantage to wearing it, as it was much smaller than the two splints I had slept in for my TMJ. Bite plates come in two varieties, fixed and removable. A fixed bite plate normally attaches to two molar bands. A removable unit is similar to a Hawley retainer. It snaps onto the teeth and is held with prongs. In either case a bite plate has a raised area that keeps the teeth from completely closing. This makes chewing difficult. I was fortunate in that my bite plate is removable which allows me to take it out when eating.

The way a bite plate works is by separating your molars they will "grow" out of the gum and will open your bite. Normally a bite plate is used to eliminate a deep overbite. Mine has removed a 7 mm deep bite while wearing it. If not for my TM and grinding I would not need it anymore. Based upon the way I have chewed up three of them my ortho wants me to wear it when I sleep to prevent damage to my teeth from grinding.

Okay, now for what you really want to know. How miserable is it? AS I said I had an advantage in that I had already became accustomed to bite splints. It is not bad. In fact I became so accustomed to it that it is a bit hard to reduce my wear time.

Initially speaking is an issue. My two tips are to wear it so your mouth adjusts to it. As a foreign object your mouth will produce extra salvia until it becomes accustomed to it. Practice talking. Sing. Try to control the amount of salvia you have. I teach college and only found one or two times it got the better of me. Much of your difficulties are the voice you hear in your head, not what others hear.

If for some reason it is uncomfortable after a break in period check with your ortho. I found as my mouth changes that the bite plate needs adjustment more often than other things. If you find your teeth rubbing against each other or the prongs very tight or loose ask your ortho to check it. If you find a lot of excess salvia after you have become accustomed to it, that is a sign it may no longer fit as intended. Do not expect your first bite plate to be your last. In my time wearing one I have had four bite plates, twice I've had to have it built up and several times the prongs have needed readjusting. Please note my teeth have also moved a great deal.

Finally you will probably be given the choice of colors or clear. HAVE FUN with it. My first one was clear. My others have been a purple a clear combination. Not only does it show a sense of humor (and with braces you better have one) but also it’s easier to see when you're not quite awake.

A bite plate is not the end of the world.... unless you decide it is.

Good Luck!

Mike

[platinum]

The way a bite plate works is by separating your molars they will "grow" out of the gum and will open your bite. Normally a bite plate is used to eliminate a deep overbite.

In my case bite plate juts prevents me not to knock lower brackets off. I have rewovable bite plate and i use it only when sleeping. I wore it 1 month in the begining but now I have learned not to bite down. I asked my ortho why I have to use it and he said it does not have any other function than earlier mentioned. So, I do not wear it during the day anymore, because it gives me horrible liep.

[fitchick]

Hi Alice,

This is a link to a photo of my bite plate http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l95/f ... L10918.jpg

Initially I found talking difficult, although I put that down to the fact that I got the bite plate, Trans palatal arch and lower brace all at the same time. My ortho suggested having a few days off after so that I got used to things before going back to work and public speaking. When I said that I thought I sounded 'funny' when I spoke, he told me to record my voice and listen back. He was right, to anyone else it sounded normal, but to me it sounded strange. I decided at that point that I wanted straight teeth no matter what, everyone could clearly see I was having treatment so I wasn't worried how I sounded. Some even said I sounded cute!

My bite plate is a removable one and I only remove it to clean it. Its job was to assist in lowering my bottom jaw as my lowers were biting into the roof of my mouth. It has done its work extremely well and I would happily do it all over again for the results that I have. I have got so used to having it that when I take it out, it feels very strange without it now. I won't pretend the first week or so was easy, but remember what its doing, keep talking and talking to get used to it, its only temporary and stick with it, you will be so glad that you did.

Good Luck Alice,

Fitchick

[cally]

I have a fixed bite plate exactly like the one in this blog: http://www.geocities.com/ame_malia/index.html

It is awful! As far as comfort goes, no problem. However, eating and speaking are completely different issues. My molars don't touch, so I can't grind food and making "s" and "ch" and "z" sounds are pretty much impossible. Of course my last name has a "z" in it....sigh.

The good news---most people just wear them for just a portion of the treatment time. My ortho said my "sentence" is 3-6 months. I'm 2 weeks into it. I am already thinking of how I will celebrate when it comes out...run over it with my car, eat something semi-chewy, call my best friend and gab on the phone, LOL.

Hope this helps (and doesn't depress you too much.)

Cally

[lea72104]

that's my bite plate. mine also prevents me from biting down. at first i wore it everyday all the time because i would bite off a bracket if i didn't. no i don't wear it...my ortho hasn't told me not to, but the tooth that was the reason for it is completely in front of my bottoms now (see my story for details) mine was ok and not completely uncomfortable for awhile but then it started digging in my gums and i wore it at night only at that point. i have only been braced about 5-6 weeks...so it hasn't taken long to get my teeth into a decent alignment....good luck!!

[opie]

The only contact my teeth have are that my two front lower teeth touch the two bite blocks that are glued to my upper front teeth; nothing else touches. Eating anything but yogurt, soup, and overcooked carrots is next to impossible. Here's the tragic thing - I am going to Las Vegas early June and the two main reasons I'm going are to sightsee and to go to some of those world-class restaurants. I did not know that when I got braces that I wouldn't be able to eat anything, and I really don't want to go to Wolfgang Puck's and just have soup! I left a message with my ortho to call me Monday to see if he would temporarily remove these for the week of my trip. Do you think I stand a chance of having him say yes?? I wish I would have known this would happen; I would have done it after my trip...

[iBorg]

June is three weeks away. A lot can change in that time. I'd call and ask but he will probably tell you to wait until just before you go. Trust me, it will get better or you'll get better at adapting to it.

Mike

[artsyalice]

Wow...thank you everyone so much for your responses! I hadn't had a chance to check the site this weekend and was really thrilled with all the detail and opinions you all were able to give. THANK YOU!!!!

I'm definitely worried about the challenges a bite plate will present, but feel much better knowing a bit more about what I'm getting into.

One of my main concerns is not being able to eat very much. My husband and I are trying to have a baby and I actually don't want to loose too much weight. I mean, I'd like to loose it, but it's not good for me to while we are trying.

Did you all loose a lot of weight at first? If so how much?

[cally]

I don't think you'll lose weight, especially if you eat soft foods at first. I was VERY pleasantly surprised to find I can carefully eat chips and dips already! I've found I can eat almost anything with ease with the exception of very fibrous foods that require grinding with molars. Watermelon, oddly enough, has been the most difficult thing I've tried.

Good luck,

Cally

[iBorg]

I have lost weight. Its not because the braces prevent me from eating many foods (apples and granola bars being two no-nos). What I find myself doing is looking at many between meal snacks and thinking they're not worth the effort to clean them out of the braces after I'm done.

You can eat almost anything you want to. You just may have to adapt a bit.

Mike

[artsyalice]

iborg,
I just wanted to let you know I thought of your tip about having fun with the bite plate at my records appointment today and went with a clear with multi-color polka dots. If you hadn't said to have fun, I would have gotten clear. I actually think it's gonna look kind of fun!
Thanks!
Alice

[iBorg]

Polka dots sound FUN!!!! Good thing to have whenever you can as long as no one gets hurt. With that said I was offered tiger stripes and I let that one go.

Mike

[sparkletooth]

I have had a removable bite plate since Monday.
Still finding it very hard to eat. Hopefully it will get easier...

[iBorg]

Unless you're specifically told to wear it while eating, take it out. I was able to get a small retainer case that I'd plop it in. I also found a tool for removing it that made it much easier.

Mike