Living With an Open Bite
28 Jul
Check out this interesting article from the New York Times Punishing Doctors who Make You Wait.
I’m living with an open bite. It’s not going to change any time soon. Here’s what it looks like when I bite down.
Only my back teeth touch. This means that my lips do not completely cover my teeth when my mouth is close, unless I sort of purse them.
This means I have white spots on my teeth in the morning from air hitting my teeth all night. It takes me eating breakfast, brushing my teeth and drinking a Diet Coke to get them to go away.
An open bite means eating sandwiches, burgers, corn on the cob and pizza is difficult and sometimes impossible. Eating in public is embarrassing.
Every dentist I see wants to put me back in orthodontics to correct this open bite. I am terrified of more orthodontics. As a child and teenager, I had two sets of braces. At sixteen, my teeth, alignment and bit were considered perfect. If I had orthodontics again, I could revert back to the level of jaw pain I was experiencing four years ago. I never want to go back to that. Even if I worked with an orthodontist that understood TMJ Disorder and everything went well and I didn’t experience a lot of jaw pain, I’d still have to pay to see my specialist a lot more. He’d have to change my night guard every time my mouth changed.
I told the TMJ Disorder specialist I’m seeing here in New Jersey that although having an open bite is frustrating, I’m scared to correct it. He agreed with me, saying correcting it might cause more harm than good. If I’m relatively pain free now, why worry about the open bite?
So, I’m accepting my open bite. I’m not going to worry about my jaw deformity any more. I will not look at pictures from five years ago and compare them to pictures today trying to see how much my face has changed.
If this is the way my jaw has to be for me to feel better, I’ll praise God I’m feeling better.
I can sympathize with the multiple braces. If it’s any consolation I never even noticed a change in your face from pictures of “then” and “now”.
You are a beautiful young woman. I would agree with you – if you are not in pain like you used to be I wouldn’t do further orthodontics either. My son has an underbite and has gone through headgear, an expander, and is on his second(and supposed to be final) set of braces now. It has corrected his bite. Have they ever said why your bite shifted back to an open bite? You have a good attitude.(Not to mention a great smile!)
I do not have an open bite, but I have a problem with keeping my mouth open all night and it dries out my gums. The dentist always says, “Are you a mouth breather?” Yes, I am a mouth breather.
Ashley, if you had not mentioned it, I would never have noticed..you are a beautiful young woman..if you are not in pain and can eat, I say leave it alone. I have had TMJ for many years, the night guard helps when I use it..I find when I am stressed it flares up..but I live with it..I fear the cure is worse than the condition.
Barb
Well, your teeth look great open bite or not
Beautiful!!!
Same diagnoisis here. I can’t open my mouth any larger than my index finger! Everything has to be cut so small, eating out isn’t even worth it. My specialist told me the surgery can make thingsx worse. Been there,I’ve got the t shirt.
So for now I deal, flexiral when it really flares or before a dental procedure.
But it just plain sucks! I know, I know I’m not suppose to say that word but it does.
I developed an open bite 4 years ago and it has become worse. Dentists, orthodontists, surgeons, etc. have convinced me that I am one of a kind, that they’ve never seen anything like me. I don’t have pain, I can eat what I want to and fortunately, like you, I look normal, or nearly so and no one would suspect my problem. I have a wonderful husband too, and my life is good. I feel like a freak, though and it is a real concern to me. I don’t want to have surgery but I’d like to decrease or at least stabilize the progression. Last night after dinner with my husband, I just decided, on a whim, to google ‘Living with an open bite’ and I found you! I don’t feel weird and hopeless today and I’ve decided not to give in–to just keep looking while I have time, to find a solution, without going nutso about it. It’s sickening how many quacks there are who make their livings on people who have an obvious problem but who are able to function anyway. Thanks for being out there, being someone who shares my situation.
I can really feel for you. I’m a male, 44, and I have an open bite worse than yours. I’ve had it for all my life. Don’t really remember when it started, but I remember my dentist of long ago sending me to an orthodontist of some sort when I was like 7 or 8. He stuck made and installed a torturous device in my mouth that was meant to “retrain” my tongue not to come forward and stick between my teeth when I spoke. It could only be described as barbaric. I remember that weekend well since I got it installed on a Friday. I couldn’t eat or drink anything the entire weekend and until the next Tuesday when I got it removed.
I’ve had all kinds of casting made, x-rays, exams, you name it over the years. After that ordeal, I never wanted to do anything again and never did. I truly regret that. To fix it would have taken years of braces (that would have made the condition worse before getting better) and then major surgery. Then you have to be on a feeding tube for a while.
But, I have no smile and, like you said, biting through some things is impossible. How it looks is always in my mind. It never goes away. I don’t socialize. People do notice it. I’ve had countless people ask me what’s wrong with my teeth and I just brush it off as best I can. It someone, when I was younger, would have come up with a more humane way to treat it, I would have probably had it fixed.
The most interesting thing that I KNOW, at least in my case, that might have led to it, is that my mother let me suck on a bottle until I was around 6 or 7 years old because I wanted to. And I threw fits if I couldn’t. I always had that bottle in my mouth. I can look at pictures when I had my baby teeth and I don’t see any evidence then of the condition.
So, who knows? But, I really feel for you. I know that this condition has led me to be very anti-social. I don’t go out. I’m single. I’m not going to do anything about it now. For one, the cost is a lot of money which I don’t have. I don’t think I could ever save up that kind of money. I’m just going to ride out the rest of my life the best I can and then not worry about it anymore. I know many other people have it far, far worse with cancers, and muscular dystrophy, and other diseases. But, this is our ailment and it is personal for us. Certainly, I’m bitter about it. I feel cheated. I wish it weren’t so. No do-gooder dentist is ever going to torture me again with his experimental hardware. That I can say for sure.
You take care and best of everything to you!
I think your problem is a irregular tongue habit you leave ur tongue down and it widens your bottom teeth causing a open bite I have the same problem if so and I suggest that you try to keep ur tongue up and not down just practice a hour at least a day until you get use to it.
Hey! I had an open bite. I am 35 and had it fixed about 4 years ago. A true oipen bite is not from bottles or tounge – it is from an upper jaw that grew too large – acting like somehting stuck in a hinge that won’t let your jaw close. No braces will fix it – it requires surgery – making your jaw shorter. If it isn’t fixed your teeth will fall out and dentures are only aesthetic (don’t work for use). Before I had my surgery – my gums had started to receed and would have caused my teeth to fall out. I went to Dr Holmes in South Florida who is one of the lead surgeons in the country – worth every penny. My surgery was extremely successful and I am more than happy with the results. I just want to encourage you in that you didn’t do anything wrong – it is a genetic deformity and you definately should get it fixed. recovery isn’t that bad and results are immediate. I know you will be happy with your new jaw! You go girl! It will all be worth it! Email me if you would like…
Michelle
bamvaught@hotmail.com
Thank you all for sharing your stories! My doctors say I’m fine, so I’m not looking to do anything to correct my open bite at this time.
Hey Michelle I emailed you! I’m not gonna say a whole lot here cuz I need to go to sleep but I know where all of you guys n girls
Are coming from. I to have an open bite in my front teeth from tongue thrusting I believe and it sucks I’m very self consious about my teeth I had braces all through high school but never had the surgery cuz insurance wouldn’t cover it and it was very expensive I’m 25 years old now and looking into getting braces again and having the surgery but that’s just me cuz I’m the self consious type when it comes to my looks and teeth. There’s a lot more I could say on the subject but like I said I gotta get to sleep I drive a truck. Good luck everyone
Sorry forgot to leave my email if anyone wants to get at me its Brandon_Waldridge@yahoo.com I’m using my blackberry to view this site but is it just me or is crystal kinda hot? Lol sorry had to
I have an open bite from sucking my thumb. The way I look at it is that it makes my habit (still do) much more comfortable as my thumb fits perfectly. I actually like it!
Thank you so much for sharing your story! I’ve been struggling with bruxism and TMJ for a while, too. My poor incisors are almost flat now. Have you considered a full coverage night guard? NTIs and other partial devices can cause open bite (or aggravate it) …. or so I’ve read.
http://www.is.wayne.edu/mnissani/bruxnet/widmalm.htm
when did you develop your open bite? After the NTI?
Thanks for sharing your story. I’m 48 with an open bite and I’m starting to have problems with my upper front teeth. I’m currently getting tons of x-rays, 3-D models and the professionals are suggesting surgery and braces. I’m concerned with the cost of the whole thing at my age since I would like to retire some day. I don’t have dental insurance. The open bite is not an issue for me. It has made it difficult to eat some things like you mentioned, but I’ve learned to deal with it. No one notices the open bite unless I tell them. I don’t know what I’ll do, I just want the front teeth re-capped or something, but the open bite is a stumbling block for the doctors.
Being in my forties, also, I sort of figure that I won’t be getting my open bite fixed in my lifetime. It’s really the kind of thing that needs taken care of when you’re a child IMO. I have had it noticed before. Usually, it’s just some small comment like “what’s wrong with your mouth” or “do this once” (the other person is showing me their bite closed). When I did check into it in my twenties it was going to be quite a few thousand dollars of braces work first over a few years and then surgery costing in the tens of thousands. That would require breaking and resetting the jaw, stabilizing it with wires for a couple weeks, a short stay in the hospital, not being able to eat for some time, etc. I think it would have been worth it back then, but not now. My father had great insurance on me when I was a kid and it should have been taken care of then. As far as the other comments about “tongue thrashing” and the like………………that may very well be true for some people with this condition, but it’s not true for everyone. There is no one size fits all cause for anything. There are always many reasons for different people for any disease or condition. I had “the” torture” device placed in my mouth when I was an adolescent. And it was just that: TORTURE. I had it in for just short of a week. I couldn’t eat anything for the entire time. I couldn’t even drink water without having my tongue get stabbed by the barbs on the appliance. It caused bloody wounds on my tongue. That retraining will not work for everyone. I am pretty sure that my open bite was caused in my formative years by me being allowed to suck on a bottle and pacifier for too long to the age of 6 or 7. I used to walk around with the bottle held between my front teeth dangling from my mouth. Same for the pacifier. When I wasn’t in kindergarten or first grade, whenever I was home, the bottle or pacifier was in my mouth. That much I do know. I just do the best I can with the cards I was dealt.
I have spent thousands of dollars to fix my tmj problem. A “specialist” even changed my perfect bite to an open bite with expensive mouth splints, etc., and then went on to suggest other expensive options of putting in crowns, etc. Long story short, did not solve pain problem and, unfortunately, changed my bite and cost a fortune. I am here to tell you that after much searching, I have found for me a solution. I see a fabulous naturopathic doctor in my area that does Craniosacral Therapy and after only about 5 treatments, my headaches are gone, my pain has subsided. She does intraoral work as well which has really relieved the massive tension in my jaw. I will still need to address the open bite issue but, it actually may be resolved with veneers in front to close the gap and take undue pressure off my back teeth. For anyone who is interested to find out more about my journey (so that you may be able to save yourself a lot of pain and $$), I’d be happy to talk to you. I’ve tried just about everything out there. All the best. My heart goes out to folks dealing with jaw, teeth problems. It’s not really covered by medical insurance and dental insurance is a drop-in-the-bucket compared to actual costs.
I have an open bite too…I’m trying to accept it and move forward, but I’m deathly afraid of it becoming worse as I age. Right now I can close my lips, but need to loosen my jaw if I want it to be comfortable.
Eating out in public is super embarrassing for me too
I acquired an open bite as a result of taking a certain medication. My bite was fine 5 years ago. Two years ago as it got worse (but no real pain) I was really frightened that in a few years I would only be able to eat soup and that I would have this dread drop jaw thing or something. Orthodontists who scared me to death, bone tests, planned major surgeries, other specialists who were many miles away and to whom I drove, and $$$.. the mental part was awful. And then…I decided that none of this was doing me any good, that my mouth wasn’t getting any worse, that I wasn’t getting deformed looking, that I didn’t have pain and that I can eat almost everything that I want to eat and two years later I’m no worse physically at all but I am much better mentally and if years down the road I absolutely need something done then I am convinced that there will be better procedures than there are now. My open bite is very weird and my dentist never fails to tell me so but I am attractive, healthy and OK with it and no one other than those who have been through this with me have any idea that I have this. So this is my story today.
Hey MD
I had a surgery 2 years ago … and actually it didn’t fix my problems. I was super happy after, during the first year. But my jaw starts to get sore again and my open bite is coming back. If you could help me guys and tell me what should I do, who should I see, please let me know. I am about to see a cranio sacral therapist, I hope it will help, I am sceptic. I live in Sydney.
Thw a lot
You can read my story at the link above. I’m just at the beginning of my long journey.
http://bracesopenbitesurgery.blogspot.com/
Oops there we go.
Regarding the night guard: I am convinced that mine made my open bite worse. When I first had an open bite I went to a specialist who custom made mine. Nearly each time I saw him he added a little more of the ‘plastic’ material building it up to adjust it to my bite. Next time he would grind it down and adjust, later adding a little more, then grinding some down. I think this had an end result of jacking my TMJ open to a greater extent. I have not worn it for 2 years. I have a very thin night guard that covers my bottom teeth to prevent them from being ground down.
(The night guard covers my top teeth not my lower teeth.)
NTis cause open bites. Read the research. Dentists are using them not realizing the consequence. Teeth can not be kept apart long term or they will supra erupt and change the bite. I wore a similar unit and ended up with an open bite. The dentist i went to for help immediately asked me if I wore an NTI. Please be aware of this risk, my dentist here in Boston said it will eventually be pulled from the market.
Good luck.
Kristin, does your dentist also not like full mouthguards — the ones that cover all the teeth? If not, what does he recommend?