Crooked teeth make it difficult to bite and chew. It’s one of the main reasons people get braces. Once the braces are on, the bite problems don’t disappear right away. What do you do if your teeth hit your braces when you chew? We can solve that problem with bite turbos.
What are bite turbos, and how do we use them? Fergus Orthodontics uses bite turbos to protect your braces while creating the smile you want. It’s one of many tools we use to ensure the best results possible.
What Are Bite Turbos?
Bite turbos can also be called bite ramps or bite blocks. Whatever you call them, they’re made to make it easier for patients to bite and chew without damaging their braces or their teeth.
Bite turbos are made of acrylic or metal and are small, triangular devices that are bonded to the back of the incisors or onto the molars to keep your teeth from hitting your braces brackets. It’s common to place two bite blocks at a time. That way, if one happens to come off, the other will still protect your braces until the first one is replaced.
Why Do I Need Bite Turbos?
Not every patient needs bite turbos. These are made for patients who have teeth that rub against the front of their incisors or the sides of their molars, such as those with a deep bite or a crossbite.
Teeth that rub against each other now will likely hit the braces brackets once they’re placed. This could cause damage to the brackets or wires, or even cause the brackets to come loose. Repeated damage could delay your treatment.
Patients have far fewer instances of losing or damaging brackets and wires with bite turbos. We evaluate each patient to see if orthodontic appliances like bite turbos are needed.
How Do We Place Bite Turbos?
How are bite turbos placed on the teeth? We put these devices on the areas where your teeth rub or are at risk of rubbing together. We use a bonding agent to place the bite turbos, much like we use to put the braces bands or brackets on your teeth.
For example, we place bite turbos on the back of the upper central incisors to stop the lower teeth at a certain position that prevents the upper teeth from making contact with the lower brackets. This is for patients with deep bites or overbites.
Those with an underbite may hit the upper incisor brackets with their lower teeth while biting, so bite turbos are placed on the back of the lower teeth to stop the upper incisors from going too far and allowing the lower incisors to contact the upper brackets.
For those with a crossbite, in which the back teeth slide down the inside of the molars, we place bite turbos on the first or second molars to protect the braces. On rare occasions, we might put the bite turbos on the premolars instead, but we usually place them on the molars.
How Do I Eat With Bite Turbos?
How do you bite or chew with these little plastic or metal wedges on your teeth? It may seem a bit of a challenge at first because you won’t be able to chew as you have been for so long. However, easing into it can make the transition far less challenging.
Try starting with soft foods such as mashed potatoes, yogurt, macaroni and cheese, protein shakes, and cooked oatmeal. This will help teeth sore from getting braces for the first time, and it will make it easier to learn to eat with bite turbos.
Once you learn how to move your teeth and tongue around your new orthodontic appliances, it will be easier to move to more solid foods in a couple of days.
Start with the softer solid foods, such as cooked vegetables, soft non-chewy breads, soft cheeses, and fish. After about a week or so, you’ll be ready to move to normal foods — as long as they are safe foods to eat with braces.
FAQs About Bite Turbos
Do bite turbos hurt? How long will I wear bite turbos? There are many questions patients have about bite turbos. Here are a few of them and some answers to those questions.
Do bite turbos hurt?
How long will I wear bite turbos?
Will bite turbos reduce tooth wear?
How do I brush around bite turbos?
Will I have speech problems with bite turbos?
What if I have a bite turbo orthodontic emergency?
Bite Turbos in Jonesboro, AR
Bite turbos are one of many types of orthodontic appliances we use to get the best results for your teeth. These devices reduce the chances of damaging your braces from biting or chewing. That means fewer delays in your braces treatment.
Schedule an appointment with Fergus Orthodontics if you have questions about bite turbos in Jonesboro, AR. Will they improve your braces results? Fergus Orthodontics can answer that!
