Waiting for Stage II and Costs of Working Jaw Orthotic

So, for anyone wondering or noticing, I haven't written a post in a while. This isn't because I've forgotten to, it's because I've been waiting, and waiting...and waiting. What am I waiting for? Well, I'm waiting for a response from my doctor about what the cost will be for a working orthotic.

Just to recap what has happened so far, I was told that moving my teeth using braces so that I won't have an open bite in my new jaw position will take upwards of five years and be a long and tedious process. Therefore, I've decided to instead position the jaw using a working orthotic that will lower my jaw in the back and position my lower front teeth upward and behind my upper teeth. This gradual movement will be done intentionally, which is why I need a different orthotic. My current jaw orthotic was meant to get my jaw in a relaxed position of its own choosing. The problem with this position is my teeth don't match up very well.

So, the dentist will slowly maneuver the jaw to a better position for my teeth, which will hopefully not cause me further jaw joint pain. If it does, then a new option will have to be considered. Personally, my jaw at one point did align better with my front teeth, so I think that the teeth have worn in the back and that's why I now have an open bite. I believe this happened when I was around 18 years old, which was when my jaw started to develop an open bite, not a noticeable one, but I was suddenly unable to use my front teeth for tearing.
Once the working orthotic is used to find a better bite, my dentist intends to put caps on my back teeth to hold the new position in place. This may either be caps on my upper and lower back teeth, or just my lower ones, which would be ideal for my financial sake.

The process time is currently difficult to estimate, my dentist says, "As long as it needs to take." However because my muscles and joints are now relaxed and in a calm position, she seems to feel it will take less time than the initial orthotic, plus I'm not positive that I will need to be hooked up to the TENSing unit because my muscles are already calmed.

Needless to say, although I am completely comfortable in my current jaw position, I'm anxious to get past these orthotics and just get back to having my teeth come together. In my new position, it's hard to force my teeth together because my jaw is loose and comfortable in a different place. This makes it difficult to chew and when I do chew I'm pushing my joints into the old position that they are not comfortable with. Having an orthotic isn't very difficult, and from what I can tell, it is much more manageable than braces. For one thing I can take it out and brush it at night, which I know it is much more difficult to keep braces clean. It also is not painful whatsoever. I am still looking forward to that time when I don't have to deal with taking it in and out anymore.

Some tips about getting a jaw orthotic that some people might find helpful is that you will want to tell your dentist if the orthotic is too tight or causing any pain because they can make small adjustments to help make it more comfortable. I actually had the dental assistant give me my orthotic initially and I told her it was tight and she said to just kind of get used to it. I thought maybe there was nothing they could do so I didn't mention it again, but then it became very painful wearing it and I mentioned it again to the dentist and she said she could easily adjust it. She did adjust it and it made a big difference, so speak up to your dentist if this is bothering you. I think I just assumed that the dental assistant would have known this, but she did not.
I think I will make another post in the meantime about getting used to the orthotic, but otherwise I will continue to wait for a final estimate of what Stage II will cost and then get back to you!

I hope my experiences might help someone going through a similar process or looking for some options. Please let me know if you have any questions and also feel free to share your own stories in the comments below! Thanks!