Bite Blocks Braces

Overview

Bite blocks are small devices placed on your teeth during braces treatment to keep your upper and lower teeth from fully closing.

This guide is for anyone starting orthodontic treatment who has been told they need bite blocks. It explains what these tiny devices do, where they sit in your mouth, and how they feel in the first days. Many patients search for the term bite blocks braces after an orthodontist mentions them, then wonder how the devices will affect eating and speaking.

Orthodontists use bite blocks to protect braces and to help guide teeth into a better position. They are a normal part of orthodontic treatment, not a sign that something has gone wrong. Most people adjust within one to two weeks.

What Bite Blocks Are and How They Work

Bite blocks are tiny devices, often made of tooth-colored composite, that your orthodontist bonds to your teeth to hold your bite slightly open.

When your upper teeth and lower teeth come together too hard, they can knock brackets loose or block teeth from moving. Bite blocks raise the bite so the upper and lower teeth no longer crash into the braces. This gives your orthodontist room to correct a deep bite, where the upper front teeth cover too much of the lower front teeth, or a crossbite, where teeth do not line up side to side.

Where the blocks go depends on your bite. Some people get them on the back teeth, near the molars, to prop the jaw open. Others get them behind the front teeth, where the lower front teeth touch. The blocks can sit on the front or back teeth depending on the problem being treated.

What to Know Before You Get Bite Blocks

Bite blocks can be used at almost any age. They are most common in children and teens, when correcting the bite is a main goal of treatment.

There is no single right age for bite blocks. Your orthodontist times them to your treatment, often early on when a deep bite or crossbite needs to open before teeth can move. Research on bite correction in growing children, including a 2024 Cochrane systematic review of treatment for prominent lower front teeth, has evaluated how and when appliances correct bite problems in children ^[1].

To prepare, plan for soft foods for the first few days. Stock yogurt, eggs, pasta, and soup so you can eat soft foods comfortably while your mouth adjusts. Tell your orthodontist about any jaw pain or clicking, since sore jaw muscles can take longer to settle. The American Association of Orthodontists offers patient guidance on what to expect during orthodontic treatment ^[2].

Keep in mind that most strong research looks at braces and bite correction as a whole rather than at bite blocks on their own. Much of what orthodontists know about bite blocks comes from everyday clinical practice and from broader studies of bite correction, so your orthodontist's hands-on judgment guides how they are used ^[2].

What to Expect When You Get Bite Blocks

Getting bite blocks is quick and painless. Your orthodontist cleans the tooth, places the soft material, shapes it, and hardens it with a light in a few minutes.

For the first few days, your bite will feel tall and your back teeth may not touch the way they used to. Many people notice chewing problems at first because the bite blocks change how the teeth meet. Sticking to soft foods makes these chewing problems easier to manage while your jaw muscles adjust.

Bite blocks can also cause speech impairments in the first days, especially with sounds like s and t. These speech impairments are usually mild and fade as your tongue learns the new shape of your mouth. If speech issues last more than a couple of weeks, mention it at your next visit.

Here is what this can look like in real life. Imagine a teenager who gets bite blocks on the back teeth on a Monday. For the first few days, soft foods like yogurt and scrambled eggs feel fine, while biting into a crunchy apple feels almost impossible. The letter s sounds a little slushy in class. By the start of the second week, chewing feels closer to normal and the slushy sounds have faded. This pattern, with the hardest days right at the start, is what most people go through ^[3].

Over the following weeks, the blocks may wear down a little from normal chewing, which is normal. Your orthodontist checks them at each visit and adds material if needed. As your teeth move, there may come a point in your braces treatment when the bite blocks are no longer needed and are simply polished off.

Cost Factors for Bite Blocks

Bite blocks are usually included in the overall price of braces treatment rather than billed as a separate item.

Because bite blocks are part of a full orthodontic treatment plan, there is rarely a stand-alone fee. If a block breaks and needs replacing, some offices charge a small repair fee, while others include repairs in the treatment cost. Costs vary by location, provider, and case complexity.

Dental insurance that covers orthodontic treatment generally covers the appliances used to correct the bite, including bite blocks, under the same benefit. Coverage limits, age caps, and lifetime maximums differ between plans. Ask your orthodontist's office for a written estimate and check your benefits before treatment begins. General information on dental care and coverage is available through the American Dental Association ^[3].

When to See an Orthodontist

See an orthodontist when a deep bite, crossbite, or other bite problem needs correcting, since bite blocks are part of specialist orthodontic treatment.

Your general dentist can spot a bite problem and refer you. An orthodontist has extra training to plan tooth movement and to decide whether bite blocks, and how many, your case needs. For children with prominent lower front teeth or other jaw differences, early specialist evaluation matters; a 2024 Cochrane review examined treatment for this problem in children ^[1].

A general dentist and an orthodontist play different roles in bite block care. The table below shows who does what. <table><thead><tr><th>Provider</th><th>Role in bite block care</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>General dentist</td><td>Handles cleanings, fillings, and checkups, notices a deep bite or crossbite, and refers you to a specialist</td></tr><tr><td>Orthodontist</td><td>Completes two to three years of extra training after dental school, plans how teeth will move, and decides whether you need bite blocks and how many ^[2]</td></tr></tbody></table>

Call your orthodontist sooner if a bite block falls off, if you have sharp tooth pain, if chewing becomes very hard, or if speech impairments do not improve. These issues are easy to fix and should not wait until your next routine visit. The American Association of Orthodontists can help you understand when specialist care is right ^[2].

Use this quick guide to decide whether to call your orthodontist right away or wait for your next visit.

• If a bite block falls off, then call within a day or two, because a tooth can start to drift back without it ^[2].
• If you feel sharp tooth pain instead of the usual dull soreness, then call your office, since sharp pain is not expected with bite blocks ^[2].
• If chewing is still very hard after two weeks, then ask for a checkup so your orthodontist can adjust the blocks ^[2].
• If speech changes have not improved after about two weeks, then mention it at your next visit ^[3].
• If your bite feels uneven but nothing hurts, then this is usually normal and can wait until your routine visit ^[2].