Today, July 2, 2015, I received my mRNA appliance. mRNA stands for mandibular Repositiong-Nighttime Appliance. This is an oral appliance that is primarily worn at night over a period of time that provides combined maxillo-mandibular correction. (dnaappliance.com) I’ll backtrack at points to explain what lead to this point in my life, though my immediate goal is to start a journal of my life and progresss with the appliance, and related health conditions, to share with others who may be experiencing similar health issues or seeking information about palate expansion.
Side note: I want to go back to this link and reread as it resonates with my experience and understanding, thus far, of palate expansion. http://ryan-koch.blogspot.com/2010/03/adult-palate-expansion.html
My appliance arrived and I was fitted for it today. This entailed a thorough walk through all its parts and pieces, care of said contraption, what to expect – drooling, vertigo, drunkenness, etc. – and fine tune grinding of the apparatus to fit my bite perfectly. Drooling commences immediately. Talking is extremely difficult. I feel as though I might gag on occasion due to the wire flap that extends toward the throat. This keeps the tongue from collapsing the airway during sleep. There is pressure on my jaw and teeth because the appliance is wedged between the teeth.
I’m told to make friends with the appliance, wear it off and on over the next 72 hours, get used to it. THEN, I will be reintroduced to the bottom appliance. My jaw is so narrow that fitting both appliances in together on the first few nights seemed like cruel punishment even to the dentist.
That’s it for now. I’ll report back in the morning on how the first night went.
Next Morning
All went well. I wore the top appliance for the entire night, about eight hours. I didn’t find it was that uncomfortable. I tossed and turned all night, but that’s normal for me. I must have slept with my mouth wide open because it was very dry when I woke up. I was told my throat may be sore because it’s relearning how to perform a “mature” swallow with all that drool, but no drool, so go figure.
After removing the appliance, I sort of wanted to put it back in because my teeth and roof of move felt somewhat unstable. Almost like you could feel that something was happening and without the device in, all that progress would be lost. I’ve been told that optimally I should wear it for 16 hours a day. I’m going to practice talking while wearing it today to get in some more hours. I have a passage the dentist sent me home with to practice speaking. I’m curious to see how both appliances are going to work with the Auto PAP machine, but that’s for another day.
elitrope 