Appliances

Herbst/MARA

When your upper teeth protrude

One of the most common problems orthodontists treat is the discrepancy that occurs when the upper teeth protrude beyond the lower. Ordinarily when we see a patient with the upper teeth protruding, we tend to think that the upper jaw and teeth are too far forward; but, more often than not, this condition is due to a small lower jaw that is further back than it should be. With these patients, we would like to encourage the lower jaw to catch up in growth, and braces like the Herbst/MARA appliance help this happen.

As with all kinds of braces, if you have an Herbst/MARA appliance, you need to be careful about what you eat. So stay away from these foods during your orthodontic treatment:

Cold foods such as ice slushes, Popsicles, and ice, freeze the cement and make your brace loosen.
Sticky foods such as caramels, bubble gum, and candy suckers pull the brace away from your teeth.
Hard foods like crisp vegetables and hard candies bend and loosen the Herbst/MARA appliance too.

Your Herbst/MARA appliance is checked and adjusted at your appointments. If sometimes, between appointments, you develop some sore areas on the inside of your cheeks, please do not try to adjust the appliance yourself. Call our office for an appointment so that The Super Dentists can make the necessary adjustments.

Wearing an Herbst/MARA Appliance

At first, your mouth will feel unusually full and speaking will be awkward. But if you practice reading aloud, your ordinary speech will return quickly. You may also notice more saliva than normal, but this will decrease as you become accustomed to the appliance.
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Expander

To turn expander:

Find a place in the house that is comfortable, where your son/daughter can lie on their back with their head tilted backward. (Looking up toward the ceiling).
Sitting along side of them, have them open their mouths.
Insert the key into the hole in the expander.
Then turn the key toward the back of their throat.
To complete the turn remove the key STRAIGHT down. Make sure that this is straight down because you do not want to reverse the turn.
HINT: Be sure to turn the key all the way toward the back of the throat. That way, you will be able to properly fit the key in the next hole.
If you are unable to keep your scheduled appointment, stop turning the expander.

Retainers

Wear your retainers full time (meals and sleeping), unless otherwise instructed.
Clean retainers thoroughly once a day with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Use warm but not hot water. Brushing retainers removes the plaque and eliminates odors. Efferdent or other orthodontic appliance cleaners can be used, but do not take the place of brushing.
When retainers are not in your mouth, they should ALWAYS be in a retainer case. (Most appliances are lost in school lunch rooms or restaurants, and pets love to chew on them!)
Initially, you may find it difficult to speak. Practice speaking, reading or singing out loud to get used to them faster. Your speech will normalize in a few days with retainer in place.
Retainers are breakable, so treat them with care. If retainers are lost or broken, call us immediately.
If you have any questions or concerns about your retainers, or your retainers need adjusting, please call us. Do not try to adjust them yourself.
Always bring your retainers to your appointments.
Retainer replacement is expensive... with proper care, they will last for years!
Remove retainers when swimming.
Keep retainers away from hot water, hot car dashboards, pockets, the washing machine and napkins.

Elastics

Unless otherwise instructed, elastics need to be worn 24-hours a day except when brushing your teeth. They need to be changed after each meal or 3-4 times a day.

Lingual Arch

The lingual holding arch is designed to maintain the position of the lower molars as the baby teeth are lost. The permanent teeth that will replace these baby teeth are much smaller. By preventing the molars from moving forward, we can gain some space to relieve crowding of the lower teeth. By using a lingual holding arch, we reduce the need to extract permanent teeth to relieve crowding. The lingual holding arch is worn until all the permanent teeth have erupted.

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Twin Block

Your Twin Block has been specially produced from models of your teeth--IT ONLY FITS YOU. The purpose, or function, of the appliance is to achieve orthopedic correction-that is, to correct the relationship of your jaws.

The appliance is activated each time you move your jaws, swallow or talk-this creates gentle pressure on your teeth, arches and jaws. By posturing your jaw in a new, corrected position, your Twin Block will influence the way your cheeks, lips and tongue now function and create a change in your growth pattern.

It will be difficult to speak clearly and your mouth will feel "strange" during the first several days you wear your appliance. Practice talking by reading a book out loud, for example, to overcome these difficulties as quickly as possible.

Your teeth may be sore and you may experience excess saliva during the first few days of wear. This problem should disappear in a short period of time. To reduce difficulty during the first week of wear, we suggest you eat soft foods (eggs, soup) and avoid "chewy" foods such as meat and bread.

Your appliance should be worn at all times - even when you sleep and when you eat! Remember to keep your lips together and breathe through your nose-this will allow the appliance to function more effectively. The only exceptions are when you clean your appliance or engage in active sports-you may also receive special wearing instructions.

In general, avoid any hard or sticky food while wearing your Twin Blocks. If a wire or the acrylic part breaks, do NOT attempt to adjust the appliance-this should only be done in our office.

Your appliance should be cleaned by holding it in the palm of your hand under cold running water only. Scrub it gently with a toothbrush and toothpaste (or soap) and return it to your mouth immediately. The appliance should be cleaned after each meal and at the end of each day.<

Always store your appliance in your carrying case (e.g. sports activities where you need to wear mouthguards) and never wrap it in a napkin or put it in your pocket. It is fragile and breakage could result in additional expense and EXTEND YOUR WEARING TIME.

As always, if you have any questions, please ask us; we are always more than happy to help.

To make your or your child's first appointment with The Super Dentists, call (760) or (619) DENTIST (336-8478) today!