Dyna-splint

Mikemetz
Mikemetz Member Posts: 465 Member
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Three years after rads the trismus in my jaw has not gotten much better--probably even worse. I can barely open my moth wide enough to take in a grilled cheese sandwich. I tried a Dyna-splint right after rads and had a lot of problems with painful spasms--so I sent it back. The docs are now recommending the Dyna-spint again, but I have my doubts and don't want to feel those spasms again--they really hurt.

Has anyone had any success with this contraption--enough to recommend that I take another shot with it?

Mike

Comments

  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #2
    not me, but
    slow and steady, withiut pain works best. I have had trouble in this area too. My ent onc didnt recommend tge splint. H rather told me to just pry the jaw open frequently. I did that after my radical surgery , eventually achieving ocer 3cm opening. Now Ive contracted back down with rads, and am working on it again. insert fingers, twist till discomfort for 30 seconds, 10-20 times a day. Ive gone from 2 to 2.5 cm in a month. Working on 3. That is the magic number for cheeseburgers.


    Pat

    ps. I hate typing on this ipad.
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #3
    Hi Mike

    I used both the Threibite and the Dynasplint and found them both useless, just costing a lot of money and giving me a lot of pain in the jaw and teeht. I went in my shop and made some wooden spools that had worked better for me then anything else. I made them different sizes and as my mouth opened a little more I would make another one just a little bigger.

    All the Threibite and the Dynasplint did was to pull my front teeth down out of place so every time I eat I bite my lip. The wooden spools I made work on the molder teeth in the back, these teeth are designed for biting down on food so the wooden spools don’t damage them.

    Any way it works for me, just need to change them out once a month as the wood does taste bad after a while. All I have is about 20mm of opening, it is had to eat and hard to find a Dentist that can work on my mouth.

    Wishing you the best
    Hondo
  • Mikemetz
    Mikemetz Member Posts: 465 Member
    #4
    Hondo said:

    Hi Mike

    I used both the Threibite and the Dynasplint and found them both useless, just costing a lot of money and giving me a lot of pain in the jaw and teeht. I went in my shop and made some wooden spools that had worked better for me then anything else. I made them different sizes and as my mouth opened a little more I would make another one just a little bigger.

    All the Threibite and the Dynasplint did was to pull my front teeth down out of place so every time I eat I bite my lip. The wooden spools I made work on the molder teeth in the back, these teeth are designed for biting down on food so the wooden spools don’t damage them.

    Any way it works for me, just need to change them out once a month as the wood does taste bad after a while. All I have is about 20mm of opening, it is had to eat and hard to find a Dentist that can work on my mouth.

    Wishing you the best
    Hondo

    Pat and Hondo
    Thanks for the advice on home made substitutes for Dynasplint. I've also been thinking of some home made solutions, after my first bad experience with that contraption. I am definitely leaning toward declining my doc's recommendation and figuring out something for myself that is less painful, less costly, and more effective. Pat, I loved your cheeseburger reference point and have set that as my goal. Had a cheeseburger today, and it's not as good when you can't bite down on both parts of the bun at once. I feel like a squirrel when I eat stuff like that!

    Mike

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