Guest guest Posted September 20, 2005 Report Share Posted September 20, 2005 Hi , There are no dumb questions here! A splint can be something your ortho designs in order to help prevent clenching or grinding at night. My ortho uses them to relieve TMJ symptoms. What most of the members refer to here is a splint that is used during surgery, and often remains in post-op during early recovery (first few weeks, actual length of time varies). My surgeon made my inter-op splint at the pre-surgery appointment 1 week before surgery. He does all of his molds close to surgery. It's really nothing more than a thin plastic wafer. He uses this during surgery to align things. I asked him what his criteria were for leaving it in post-op. He said " if I have to do an upper segmentation, I'll leave it in, otherwise I'll toss away after the surgery. " He didn't know, at that point, whether or not he'd do a segmented upper surgery. Luckily for me, my ortho had widened my palate sufficiently without expanders or surgery, so it wasn't necessary. Apparently the splints feel much larger than they actually are. You might find some examples showing what post-op splints look like in the photos on this site and oss2 at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/orthognathicsurgerysite2. Also a lot of useful info on the geocities site I created at http://www.geocities.com/orthognathicinfo/ Hope that helps, (upper/lower/genio Aug 2002) > Dear Group > > I would appreciate it if someone could explain to me what a splint is. Please excuse my ignorance. I'm 11 months away from having upper and lower jaw surgery and am trying to learn as much as possible. > > Regards > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 20, 2005 Report Share Posted September 20, 2005 , I had upper segmentation and had to wear a splint that was on the bottom of my teeth (like the normal ones) but then there was a part that went into the roof of my mouth. I could not talk very clearly. I was told I could chew soft foods but I did not chew anything, as everything got stuck and it just wasn't worth it! I wish I could have taken a picture of mine, but it was thrown away at the surgeon's office! I had mine in for 6 weeks, but everyone varies. Mindy > > Dear Group > > > > I would appreciate it if someone could explain to me what a splint > is. Please excuse my ignorance. I'm 11 months away from having upper > and lower jaw surgery and am trying to learn as much as possible. > > > > Regards > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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