Mouth prop (bite-block): Friend or Foe?

[laughingloon]

I don't like needing to have a bite block but have to use it on some things or my jaw muscles act up for days.

[Kajikit]

I hadn't ever used one of these until yesterday when I had a root canal done. I expected to HATE it because I hate things in my mouth. When they put the block in I freaked out and spat it out because it was way too far back in my mouth. So they moved it forward a lot... then I told them it was okay to move it further back and we found a happy medium. Once it had been in my mouth for a minute or so I was used to the feel of it and it was much easier than having the dentist tell me to open wider every five minutes... usually I have a lot of trouble keeping my mouth open wide enough for long enough for the poor dentist to do their job.

[comfortdentist]

bite blocks are like many things Works great in some hands and with some patients while horrible for some to use.

[sara26]

I find that a bite block helps me, in that I don't have as many problems with the TMJ Dysfunction afterwards, I also have a hard time holding my mouth open for long enough, sometimes it's because I "zone out" and go completely blank, and at other times my jaw just isn't strong enough.

[Geraint]

I am not shure about the Mouth Prop (Bite Block) idea I may find it makes me feel a loss of control as I would be unable to close my mouth, although I can appreciate how it may help, particularly if a patient is undergoing a particularly long procedure where they have to keep their mouth open for a long time. If you were to read my journal I remember when I began my journey to overcoming my dental phobia in 1991, when I first saw Miss J.L Potter, how patient she was with me reassuring me and coaxing/encouraging me to open my mouth a little wider - bear in mind this was the first time I had seen a dentist for about 6/7 years. I haven't had any problems with opening my mouth during dental treatment. Fortunately I haven't had to undergoe any particularly long sessions of treatment, the longest appointment I have had so far was for about 45 minutes to have a wisdom tooth extracted and a scale and polish. My dentist Mrs Bekou - Betts started by giving me LA on the wisdom tooth to be extracted, then carried out the scale and polish whilst I was 'numbing up' then after finishing the scale and polish extracted the wisdom tooth. There were 'breaks' during the treatment so I could 'rest' close my mouth.