Myth debunking: Will a mouthguard make my midface longer?
The answer is no. Now let me explain why.
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This is a question i’ve gotten a number of times and answering it is a bit complex because you first need to unpack why the myth exists in the first place.
But to give you the short answer… no. Reviv will not make your midface longer.
It will do the opposite.
As will any similar mouthguard like a Myobrace, etc.
Now let’s dive into why.
Why does this myth exist?
I have a feeling it exists because of indexed bite splints, which are often given by dentists to address things like bruxism and TMJ.
An ‘indexed’ bite splint is basically one that locks the tooth position of the oppositing teeth like the pic above.
It is an upper bite splint but it has grooves that the lower teeth fit into. This is what ‘indexing’ is.
Indexing is basically a dental term that means there are grooves for the opposing teeth to fit into and I consider it to be wrong.
Whereas if the surface of the splint was completely flat it would be fine.
Why is indexing bad?
Indexing is bad because it assumes that dentists can fix your bite in a single position.
When in reality if you do this it deflates the skull and flattens the curve of spee. Something my old friend, Marcello, figured out back in like 2016.
And then i ran experiments for over a year on myself back around 2017 and confirmed.
If I locked my bite in a single position and measured the change on a tracking splint… the curve of spee did not improve. Rather it tended to flatten or go in circles.
Which at the time was maddening. Because i’d started this whole game in 2014 with Starecta where you do in fact lock a single bite position in the appliance.
And i made good progress at the beginning. But then found myself going in circles for years. And couldn’t figure out why.
Till Marcello gave me this enlightening information. That the human bite needs several bite positions supported by the cusps of the teeth and the curve of spee.
He called it a ‘lingual’ bite and it was based on ‘Gerber lingualized occlusion’ which was key to how they made dentures years ago.
I explain all of this here, so please read that if you want to know more about it.
So essentially if you use an ‘indexed’ appliance for an extended period of time my experience was that it would lengthen the midface and roll up your profile.
And if you wanted to use a splint and not have this happen than it would either have to be flat (like a flat plane splint) or you would need to register two different jaw positions on the same splint, which is something Marcello and I both did for a couple of years back in 2017-18.
Popular examples of indexing
Starecta’s ‘Plug and play” and Mewing World’s ‘polymorph pads’ are both examples of indexing a single bite position.
Why are they examples?
Because they lock a single bite position. UNLESS you register a bite in two different positions with a ramp between the two positions as Marcello used to teach.
When I registered two positions on a splint the way Marcello taught me the curve of spee only improved. And thus the skull inflated and midface continued to widen.
Appliances that do not index will improve the midface
Mouthguards like Reviv and Myobrace do not index the teeth. The surface is completely flat.
And this allows the position of the teeth to evolve, which it does on a daily basis.
Allowing the teeth to constantly move is part of what enables the soft tissue to stretch and the skull to ‘inflate’.
And it is this ‘inflating’ that makes the face wider and brings back the angles. Something i’ve seen on my own face numerous times over the years starting back in 2016.
And my face now is far wider than it was in 2020 when i’d screwed myself up. But more work needs to be done to bring back the proper angles, etc.
All in good time.
Closing thoughts
I often see on TMJ forums like Reddit or on FB groups… folks saying things like 'my mouthguard made my face longer’.
And when i double click you always get more to the story.
For example they’d done braces or extractions and used the mouthguard for only a short time before they left their posterior open bite unsupported.
Or perhaps they were given a custom mouthguard that was indexed and was not flat.
It’s part of the whole misinformation maze that surrounds this space.
But using a flat mouthguard like Reviv will not lengthen the midface, rather it will widen it. As long as you are disciplined and stick with it.
And i honestly would not have even started Reviv if I wasn’t completely sure of that. Because it would have been a shitshow lol.
would using a NTI-tss type device that only covers the top incisors be of benefit? My dentist made me one for free once for my bruxism after I lost my indexed appliance and it seemed to work pretty well for what it was (before I lost that as well--it was small and clear). The device provided height and the rear teeth were free. The only problems I can tell is there might be less jaw movement compared to a reviv. Appreciate your thoughts. Fascinating stuff