Dental Issues

[BlueandGold]

Has anyone out there had any dental devices to help with biting tongue, cheeks and lips? Both my brother-in-laws are dentists but have no experience with this. I have atrophy on the left side of my face and jaw muscles. My bite is off now and I notice when laying on my side, my lower jaw will move in the direction I'm laying creating a space that my tongue seems to always find and then I end up biting it.

Do they have dental specialists at the clinic visits?

Vince

 

[gooseberry]

We haven't seen one at clinic but what about a mouth guard?

We have issues with flossing and dry mouth. We are using an oral rinse, biotene, to help make saliva and I assist as necessary for flossing.

 

[BlueandGold]

Thank you. Yes, they are making me a mouth guard, but if the changes in my bite continue to worsen I'm not sure how effective it will be. I was hoping that there might be a device that could be made that would keep my bite in check, even though the muscles are wasting.

Luckily, I'm still able to floss using the little sticks with a short line of floss attached. Right hand still functioning.

Thanks for the input.

 

[gooseberry]

That is what we use too. Some brands are longer than others. Might also want to get a bite block so if you need help in the future, you can put it between the teeth so whomever is helping you doesn't get bit. Sometimes the jaws just kind of lock when they spasm.

 

[MaxEidswick]

>I have atrophy on the left side of my face and jaw muscles. My bite is off now and I notice when laying on my side, my lower jaw will move in the direction I'm laying creating a space that my tongue seems to always find and then I end up biting it.

and i thought it was only me

oh well ...

 

[andycap]

My husband bites his tongue and his cheek all the time and his saliva is real bad,starting to
drool a lot also.I hate watching him go through this as I know all the PALS do.:mad

 

[affected]

The mouth guard needs to be made for your mouth, and yes you may need a new one if there are a lot of atrophy changes.

However, because Chris had such saliva and swallowing issues, he found that the moment he put the guard we had made into his mouth his saliva went ballistic and he couldn't use his mouth properly before, let alone with the guard in. So he had to abandon it.

After some months as he lost his speech the biting of the mouth stopped happening