Guest guest Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 It's Cammie, yes. There are retainers, and there are special devices that help you train your tongue not to do what it's used to doing. The retainers are usually either Hawleys (plastic plates, with wires embedded; the wires go around your teeth in the front and keep things in place) or Essex, which are what I have. These latter are little acryllic bits, made with heat and vacuum, by stretching a sheet of plastic over a mold of your teeth. And there's another kind, too -- the wire that's bonded to the back side of your teeth, upper and or lower. Virtually invisible, these latter two, but they keep reminding the teeth where they need to be. As for the devices to discourage tongue thrust, they sound pretty awful to me -- a series of prongs or rigid loops to insist that the tongue not go where it's not sposed to. But I have known some folks for whom they work. C. > Sue, I dunno how all this works over there, but if you can manage it, > I think the person from whom you need the opinion would be an oral > and maxillofacial surgeon. Now, and again after the ortho has worked > on you for a while. > > Sometimes the ortho can do wonders, all by itself. But many times, > the surgery is needed to give the ortho the space in which to > complete his or her job. > > And yes, it is usual to be in braces for a time before and after > surgery. And the corrections for surgery are often different from the > ones an ortho would make if he's not prepping you for surgery. > > 'Tisn't at all unusual for family, friends not to understand poop > about all this. They don't live with the bite, either. > > I do believe that true open bites, often caused by tongue-thrust, can > be really difficult to treat and stabilize. Sorry. So talk a lot with > the docs about that part of it, and what you might expect for > permanent retention... > > Owning six clinics doesn't mean a lot of experience, necessarily. Ask > him how many cases like yours he has treated, and what their outcomes > have been. You want a doc, and a surgeon, who have done A LOT! My > surgeon had operated on almost 2,000 patients before I got on his > table, and that was two years ago. > > C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 It's Cammie, yes. There are retainers, and there are special devices that help you train your tongue not to do what it's used to doing. The retainers are usually either Hawleys (plastic plates, with wires embedded; the wires go around your teeth in the front and keep things in place) or Essex, which are what I have. These latter are little acryllic bits, made with heat and vacuum, by stretching a sheet of plastic over a mold of your teeth. And there's another kind, too -- the wire that's bonded to the back side of your teeth, upper and or lower. Virtually invisible, these latter two, but they keep reminding the teeth where they need to be. As for the devices to discourage tongue thrust, they sound pretty awful to me -- a series of prongs or rigid loops to insist that the tongue not go where it's not sposed to. But I have known some folks for whom they work. C. > Sue, I dunno how all this works over there, but if you can manage it, > I think the person from whom you need the opinion would be an oral > and maxillofacial surgeon. Now, and again after the ortho has worked > on you for a while. > > Sometimes the ortho can do wonders, all by itself. But many times, > the surgery is needed to give the ortho the space in which to > complete his or her job. > > And yes, it is usual to be in braces for a time before and after > surgery. And the corrections for surgery are often different from the > ones an ortho would make if he's not prepping you for surgery. > > 'Tisn't at all unusual for family, friends not to understand poop > about all this. They don't live with the bite, either. > > I do believe that true open bites, often caused by tongue-thrust, can > be really difficult to treat and stabilize. Sorry. So talk a lot with > the docs about that part of it, and what you might expect for > permanent retention... > > Owning six clinics doesn't mean a lot of experience, necessarily. Ask > him how many cases like yours he has treated, and what their outcomes > have been. You want a doc, and a surgeon, who have done A LOT! My > surgeon had operated on almost 2,000 patients before I got on his > table, and that was two years ago. > > C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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