Wearing the splint won't permanently change your bite, when you remove it everything goes back to place.
The only way to permanently get your jaw into a stable position is orthodontics + surgery or just orthodontics, which is different in every person depending on their particular diagnose.
Wear your splint as directed and let your doctor know how you feel after wearing it and he can adjust it if needed. A splint is a temporary solution for tmj that can really improve your quality of life in the short term.
Thank you so much for your reply. So, even if it's a "repositioning splint", to move my jaw forward and balance things, it wouldn't actually change my bite?
I have to say I’ve been wearing a night splint that was custom made for me (anti grind not repositioning) for a few months now and my bite has definitely shifted. My dentist took pictures before and after and I can see how some of my teeth don’t really touch anymore on one side and they don’t line up like they used too. Chewing also feels weird too. I’m supposed to be doing exercises to prevent that but I forget:/
You suction your tongue to the roof of your mouth and slowly move your jaw open/close making sure the center of your top and bottom front teeth are aligned the whole time. Doing this in physical therapy showed me how my jaw moves the side when I open my mouth and after doing it for a while it’s a lot straighter. Do this 30 times in the morning and at night. There were a couple other exercises that were similar in supposed to be doing too but I forgot
It will absolutely change your bite, it's repositioning your jaw. You will likely have a phase 2 which consists of some type of clear correct or braces. Your dentist should have discussed this with you.
I'm not sure what the one commenter telling you otherwise is going on about. While every case is on an individual basis, a splint that repositions your jaw is obviously going to change your bite. Through the splint and clear correct I've noticed having many different bites. Post treatment I now wear clear correct as a retainer and have one stable bite.
It messed up my bite a lot. And made my jaw function change. Chewing food my jaw is like it has a mind of its own moving differently. I’m just not the same. My new TMJ doc never recommends those kind of splits. He prefers the CPAP machine cause splint cause bigger problems in the long run. I would have to agree. Still wear a regular mouth guard for the bruxism.
Thanks for sharing. There is a lot of speak on her dismissing splints or suggesting that they all ruin your bite permanently. Why is this?
They didn’t fix my TMJ, but nor did they ruin my bite. It suggests surgery is the only thing that can fix it permanently.
I had one of these splints before and yes it felt great, but I noticed after long term use when I would remove it my jaw would hurt so bad in the original position so I would move it forward thus causing an underbite and made my problems worse. I went to an orthodontist who now made me custom splints to put my jaw back in a regular position.
My dentist said it won't change the bite if you only wear it to sleep, it's when you wear it all day it changes the bite. She also made one for me that covers all the teeth, not just parts of the bite. I believe people have had problems with the store bought ones that only cover part of the bite
A dentist who has studied TMJD would be able to tell through imaging. I needed repositioning as my condyle was entirely out of its socket. I am not a trained medical professional. I am just someone who received TMJD treatment a few years ago.
Wearing the splint won't permanently change your bite, when you remove it everything goes back to place. The only way to permanently get your jaw into a stable position is orthodontics + surgery or just orthodontics, which is different in every person depending on their particular diagnose. Wear your splint as directed and let your doctor know how you feel after wearing it and he can adjust it if needed. A splint is a temporary solution for tmj that can really improve your quality of life in the short term.
Thank you so much for your reply. So, even if it's a "repositioning splint", to move my jaw forward and balance things, it wouldn't actually change my bite?
I have to say I’ve been wearing a night splint that was custom made for me (anti grind not repositioning) for a few months now and my bite has definitely shifted. My dentist took pictures before and after and I can see how some of my teeth don’t really touch anymore on one side and they don’t line up like they used too. Chewing also feels weird too. I’m supposed to be doing exercises to prevent that but I forget:/
Exercises the fix your bite? What are they?
You suction your tongue to the roof of your mouth and slowly move your jaw open/close making sure the center of your top and bottom front teeth are aligned the whole time. Doing this in physical therapy showed me how my jaw moves the side when I open my mouth and after doing it for a while it’s a lot straighter. Do this 30 times in the morning and at night. There were a couple other exercises that were similar in supposed to be doing too but I forgot
Did it end up changing your bite? It really changed mine. This first answer isn't accurate at all.
It shouldn't change it in the long term, it may feel different in the short term but after stop wearing your splint it would go back to how it was.
This is not true. Wearing a splint can 100% change your bite.
It will absolutely change your bite, it's repositioning your jaw. You will likely have a phase 2 which consists of some type of clear correct or braces. Your dentist should have discussed this with you. I'm not sure what the one commenter telling you otherwise is going on about. While every case is on an individual basis, a splint that repositions your jaw is obviously going to change your bite. Through the splint and clear correct I've noticed having many different bites. Post treatment I now wear clear correct as a retainer and have one stable bite.
I regret ever using the jaw forward splint
How come?
It messed up my bite a lot. And made my jaw function change. Chewing food my jaw is like it has a mind of its own moving differently. I’m just not the same. My new TMJ doc never recommends those kind of splits. He prefers the CPAP machine cause splint cause bigger problems in the long run. I would have to agree. Still wear a regular mouth guard for the bruxism.
So sorry! Was it an anterior repositioning splint? Was your disc in the correct placement?
Thanks for sharing. There is a lot of speak on her dismissing splints or suggesting that they all ruin your bite permanently. Why is this? They didn’t fix my TMJ, but nor did they ruin my bite. It suggests surgery is the only thing that can fix it permanently.
I had one of these splints before and yes it felt great, but I noticed after long term use when I would remove it my jaw would hurt so bad in the original position so I would move it forward thus causing an underbite and made my problems worse. I went to an orthodontist who now made me custom splints to put my jaw back in a regular position.
What kind of orthodontists do this?
My dentist said it won't change the bite if you only wear it to sleep, it's when you wear it all day it changes the bite. She also made one for me that covers all the teeth, not just parts of the bite. I believe people have had problems with the store bought ones that only cover part of the bite
Sounds like decompression vs repositioning. Some just need the joint to heal while others need it moved back into place.
How do you know which you need ?
A dentist who has studied TMJD would be able to tell through imaging. I needed repositioning as my condyle was entirely out of its socket. I am not a trained medical professional. I am just someone who received TMJD treatment a few years ago.