Not being able to fully close your mouth or bite down on your back teeth while wearing braces is a common and deliberate effect. This sensation is created by your orthodontist to facilitate the movement of your teeth and jaws. It signals a specific phase of treatment focused on correcting the way your upper and lower teeth meet. This temporary change in your bite is a necessary step toward achieving a healthy, stable, and correctly aligned final bite.
The Role of Bite Blocks and Turbos
The physical reason you cannot bite down fully is the presence of small, temporary dental additions known as bite blocks, bite turbos, or bite ramps. These devices are strategically placed on the biting surfaces of your back teeth, or sometimes on the inside surface of your front teeth. They are typically made from a strong, tooth-colored material bonded directly to the tooth enamel. When you attempt to close your mouth, these small mounds make contact first, creating a physical gap that prevents your opposing teeth from meeting completely. This mechanism acts as a temporary “speed bump” for your bite, effectively raising the bite to create clearance for movement and protection. The devices are temporary and will be removed once their function is complete, usually after a few months.
Why Orthodontists Need to Lift Your Bite
The primary reason for lifting your bite is twofold: to protect your orthodontic hardware and to unlock your bite for necessary tooth movement. When braces are first placed, patients with a deep overbite or crowded teeth might otherwise bite directly onto the brackets of the opposing arch. The force of biting can easily shear off these brackets, leading to broken appliances and significant delays in treatment progress. The bite turbos prevent this destructive contact by creating a safe buffer zone between the upper and lower teeth, protecting the brackets from biting forces.
Correcting Bite Misalignment
The second reason involves correcting the underlying bite misalignment. For many patients, the way their teeth fit together prevents them from moving freely into a corrected position. By preventing the teeth from interlocking, the bite turbos allow the teeth to move unimpeded by the opposing arch as the wires and brackets apply gentle pressure. This technique is important for correcting a deep overbite, where the upper front teeth excessively overlap the lower teeth, and for managing certain types of crossbites. The raised bite encourages the lower teeth to “erupt” slightly and the upper teeth to move relative to the jaw, helping to establish a more harmonious and stable bite relationship.
Navigating Daily Life While Your Bite is Raised
Adjusting to a raised bite takes a short period of time, as your mouth needs to learn new ways to chew and speak. During the first few days, focus on eating softer foods that require minimal chewing, such as mashed potatoes, pasta, yogurt, and soft meats cut into small pieces. This minimizes discomfort and prevents accidental damage to the appliances. Slight soreness during this initial adaptation period is common and can usually be managed with over-the-counter pain relievers.
You may also notice temporary changes in your speech, such as a slight lisp, because the tongue needs to find a new position against the new appliances. Within a week, most people adapt and their speech returns to normal as the tongue learns to navigate the altered space. If a bite block unexpectedly falls off, contact your orthodontist immediately, as this compromises the protective function and puts your brackets at risk of breakage.