Can a splint help if the bite block is not right?

Question

Can a splint help if the bite block is not right? At least it could make the bite block more even, so that there is no more one-sided strain on the muscles?

Answer

That splints help is less plausible than it seems and is often explained. First of all, there is no persistent bite block. Biting only occurs when swallowing is initiated, for less than 1 second. At rest, the teeth have no contact, they hover. When chewing, there is also no bite block, but a grinding movement.

Muscle relief works exactly the opposite of your assumption: unnatural bite block set by splints cannot relax the muscles, but increases tension. There is no permanent bite block because the muscles can only relax without tooth contact. With the splint, bite block is provoked, there is tension which must not exist on one or both sides. One-sided stress can only be resolved or harmonised through muscle coordination.

Training therapy must be used for this. There are no comparable alternatives. The lower jaw is the movable part of the masticatory system. It is not moved or guided by teeth, but solely by muscles. Harmoniously functioning muscles guide the lower jaw to the upper jaw in such a way that biological swallowing and chewing are realised just as reliably as the guidance of the jaw joints. The function of the tongue plays a major role in centring. We recommend that the FaceFormer therapy be carried out consistently according to instructions. With it, all important functions are biologically coordinated. You can find instructions here on our website and in the free FaceFormer training app.