New appliances / tongue crib and herbst activation

[Linda1]

Has anyone ever had an unexpected treatment/appliance at an orthodontist appointment? I went in for what I thought was a normal appointment on Friday and my orthodontist said we were going to activate my herbst to bring my lower jaw further forward. I've had the herbst for a while and have gotten somewhat used to it, but he added some tubes to it and positioned my lower jaw further forward so it feels like it's jutting out too far and my teeth don't touch evenly when I bite down. He told me that was normal and my bite would improve with treatment. I always bring my headgear in the little bag and he asked me to put it on so he could check it. He adjusted it a little, so it was tighter and also activated my expander quite a bit more than I usually do.

He said that with the tongue crib, I have developed a lateral thrust. Since my tongue can't go forward, it's going to the sides now. He said he wanted to install a new tongue crib that would correct this. I was very hesitant to do this, but reluctantly agreed after he explained and showed me what was happening with my teeth. He even called my speech therapist and we talked about it and she agreed this would be helpful. When he installed it, it felt awful. It's so much worse than the other one. It hangs down far in the front and kind of bends back, making a cage like piece on the bottom and pokes my tongue worse than the other one. It also hangs down on the side in the front and keeps my tongue from touching any of my front 6 teeth no matter how hard I stretch my tongue. When it was placed, I started drooling again and had difficulty swallowing. I had a horrible lisp and difficulty speaking again and my orthodontist said that's normal and I would adjust. I felt embarrassed because they had trouble understanding me when I was trying to check out. When I left, I tried to take out my headgear in the bathroom, as I usually do, and it was too tight. I went back in to the office to tell them, and my orthodontist told me it would be really tight for the next day or so and to leave it in for at least 14 hours. Why didn't he tell me this before? I went to speech therapy later in the afternoon but then had to cancel other plans for the evening. I've been sorta hiding away all weekend. I really want this new crib out! I may call their office tomorrow.

[jfriend33]

can you get to a Certified Oral Myologist (myofunctional therapy) for some tongue posture stuff? You might be fighting a losing battle here.

There's a few that will do it online as well, and plenty of youtube vids to see the therapy so you have an idea of what to expect. It may not even be applicable in your case. But why not attack from all angles.

Or maybe your SLP CCC is already a COM?

[Linda1]

Thank you for the info. My SLP is actually already a COM. I'm having such a hard time with the new tongue crib that both she and my orthodontist agreed that if I don't adjust by my appointment in two weeks, they will put the old one back in.