Any orthodontist who has been practicing for some time has probably encountered open-bite issues among their patients. This condition requires extensive treatment to correct fully. With all the work you have to do as an orthodontist and everything your patient has to persevere, it is in your interest, and the patient's, to generate results that stick.
Unfortunately, treating open bites often means you must deal with one of the most formidable muscles in the body: the tongue. If your patient has a subconscious habit of thrusting their tongue, they will eventually undo all your hard work, messing up the perfect teeth alignment you had worked so hard to achieve.
Fortunately, you can keep this from happening. And how do you do that? You take advantage of tongue tamers.
But How Do These Tongue Tamers Work?
To keep your patients from reverting to open-bite after treatment, use a Dentos AbsoAnchor Hand Driver to bond the Tongue Tamers to the lingual side of the patient's teeth. You will need to bond tamers canine to canine. The Tongue tamers are a deterrent against the tongue, keeping it from pushing the teeth out of alignment.
If you are worried about the tongue tamers hurting your patients, you shouldn't be. The rounded protrusions will not lacerate your patient. Also, they will not tear your gloves when working with your Myungsung C&M NiTi Plier to ensure they sit perfectly on the patient's teeth.
However, the tongue tamers create discomfort, making them so effective in keeping the tongue away from the patient's recently re-aligned teeth. The tongue tamers produce a coarse, uncomfortable sensation when pressed against—much like pressing the tongue to sandpaper. They subconsciously create a hot cooker effect, teaching the patient's mind to keep the tongue away from the teeth.
What Does the Research Say About Using Tongue Tamers to Facilitate Open Bite Treatment?
2010 Study
In 2010, researchers from Marquette University conducted a study to analyze the impact of using Bondable Lingual Spur Therapy (tongue tamers) for open-bite treatment. In the study, the researchers placed tongue tamers on 12 subjects with a mean age of 13.9. The researchers utilized X-ray machines to take lateral cephalometric radiographs before initiating treatment.
The researchers determined that the subjects adjusted to the spurs in less than two weeks. In patients with tongue posture problems, the tongue tamers kept the pressure away from the anterior teeth. As a result, the tongue tamers successfully reduced the anterior open bite.
2016 Study
In 2016, a group of researchers investigated the impact of using bonded and conventional lingual spurs (tongue tamers) for open-bite treatment. The study group was made up of 68 subjects who had class I malocclusion and open bite.
The participants were divided into three groups:
Group 1: This group was made up of 20 patients. Researchers used bonded lingual spurs for this group.
Group 2: This group was made up of 21 patients. The researchers used conventional lingual spurs for the group.
Group 3: This group was made up of 27 participants. This was designated the control group; therefore, no treatment was used.
After a month of treatment, the patient acceptance of the tongue tamers was evaluated using a questionnaire.
The study showed that the group with the bonded lingual spurs was more accepting than the group with conventional lingual spurs. The researchers noted that while both appliances showed overbite increases, this was only during the early open-bite treatment. After one week of treatment, more than 92.5% of the participants had already accepted the tongue tamers.
These research studies indicate that orthodontic treatment patients do not find it hard to adjust to tongue tamers and accept them. The studies also prove that tongue-tamers are effective in doing their job.
Types of Tongue Tamers
If you are yet to use tongue tamers for one of your cases, you might wonder about the different types currently available in the market. Generally, there are two types of tongue tamers—fixed and removable. Below, we will discuss these two types:
Fixed Tongue Tamers
These tongue tamers bond to the lingual side of the patient's teeth, fitting perfectly in the patient's mouth and not coming off. When removing them, you may need to use your Dentos Hook Plier to get the tongue tamers off the teeth.
The fixed tongue tamers are ideal for people with severe subconscious thrusting habits. It creates the necessary reminder that slowly adjusts the patient's subconscious mind.
Removable Tongue Tamers
The patient wears this removable tongue thrust appliance over their teeth and removes it when it is time to eat or brush. The removable tongue thrust appliance operates similarly to a 3D or 4D invisible teeth aligner. The removable tongue tamer works best when tongue thrusting is not too severe.
How Long Does Your Patient Need to Wear the Tongue Tamers?
Your patient must wear the tongue tamers until their subconscious mind adjusts and they stop thrusting their tongue against their re-aligned teeth. For most people, this may take a few months to a year.
The time is shorter if the patient wears the permanent tongue tamers than when they wear the removable tongue tamers. Basically, the more the patient wears the tongue tamers, the faster the habit subsides—therefore, if your patient's goal is to be off the tongue tamers as soon as possible, the fixed appliance may be an ideal fit.
Overview
Treating malocclusions that cause open bite is not easy. Moreover, it gets more complicated when the individual involved in the treatment subconsciously pushes their tongue against the recently re-aligned teeth.
Fortunately, as an orthodontist, you can take advantage of tongue tamers to ensure your patients are not damaging the teeth re-alignment supposed to treat their open bite. By creating an uncomfortable feeling every time the tongue pushes against the teeth, the tongue tamers slowly teach the patient to keep their tongue away from the teeth. With the tongue staying away from the teeth, you will reduce the likelihood of your patient reversing their malocclusion treatment.
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