The purpose of this block appliance is to stimulate the growth of your lower jaw. After treatment, your jaws will fit together better, allowing you to use your mouth, teeth and molars better and your lower lip will no longer be between your front teeth. Your appearance will also change.
The activator strengthens the muscles attached to your lower jaw. In the beginning, you will feel some muscle pain. When the muscles have become strong enough, they will hold the lower jaw in the new correct position; only then can the lower jaw start to grow (through bone formation at the jaw joint). An activator only works if it is worn (almost) 24 hours a day.
You can take it off during meals along with swimming and brushing your teeth. Make sure you keep the appliance in the box provided. Make sure that your appliance and the box are clean and dry or they will start to smell a bit musty.
An activator lies more or less loose in the mouth. When you bite into the appliance, you have to do it in a completely different way than you were used to. Swallowing and talking are also very different. This is exactly what is meant to happen. Of course, at the beginning you have to get used to your activator.
Many patients experience the following discomforts at first:
As a rule, these issues do not last long; the better you wear the activator, the faster they disappear. In the beginning, you may also notice sharp edges along the appliance, which can lead to small blisters in the mouth. These usually go away by themselves within two days. If not, try to keep wearing the braces and give us a call; we will then adjust the braces slightly.
The activator may fall out of your mouth while you are sleeping, but this problem will usually go away after a while.
Take good care of the activator. Brush the appliance at least three times a week with toothpaste or soap and a separate brush. If buildup forms on the appliance, clean it with a denture brush at most once a month. If necessary, cleaning vinegar can be used more often than once a month; rinse the braces well after cleaning.
