Jaw Locking Device For Weight Loss

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There’s an interesting device that’s being touted for weight loss. It locks your jaw shut so you basically can’t eat too much, except liquid food.

But could it work? And is it a good idea for losing weight?

Let’s take a look at these devices like the DentalSlim Diet Control.

Jaw locking for weight loss

Wiring a patient’s jaw shut, also known as Maxillomandibular Fixation or MMF, to prevent them from eating too much is not a new concept.

There was a time in the 1970’s and 80’s that dentists often carried out this procedure to help patients lose weight.

By keeping the jaw shut, patients could no longer bite or chew food, and had to consume mostly an all-liquid diet, on which they typically would lose weight.

This unusual use for a dental procedure was also not the only one of its kind. In the 2000’s, a retainer-like device was marketed to help patients take smaller bites.

It would sit in your mouth and take up space, making it awkward to eat and chew food too quickly. Basically, it would take much longer to eat food with this device in your mouth.

Modern devices are not much different than the orthodontic jaw wiring procedure used in the early 1980’s, although it uses magnets to hold patients’ jaws together, rather than wire, and is paired with a specific very low calorie liquid diet to achieve weight loss.

Risks and complications of a jaw locking device

Having your jaw wired shut poses some distinct problems. There are choking risks if a patient vomits.

Eating problems aside, you may find it difficult to talk or clean your teeth properly. You may have difficulties breathing normally if your nose or sinuses block up or you have allergies.

Things like sneezing and yawning may be uncomfortable. Damage to your teeth from the equipment used to fuse your jaw shut is possible, albeit uncommon.

You might also get constipation, as the all-liquid diet you’re now forced to go on lacks fiber or bulk for your stools.

You may also experience a significant change or decrease in your quality of life, and it might cause significant psychological distress.

You see, we take opening and closing our mouth for granted, and do it almost as naturally as something like opening and closing our eyes. It’s the primary way we carry out essential functions, like communicating or consuming food.

So by suddenly taking away our ability to do so, may present challenges some people are not ready to face.

This psychological distress should not be underestimated, especially during weight loss, since many people stress eat, and creating a psychologically stressful environment can make it more difficult to follow a healthy weight loss diet, or have a good weight loss mindset.

Is jaw locking a good idea for weight loss?

The device works primarily by forcing compliance to a liquid diet onto patients.

Following any very low calorie liquid diet like a juicing fast is effective in helping people lose weight initially, but is rarely sustainable.

For many people with their jaw wired shut, some weight loss is achieved, but only temporarily. In fact, studies seem to show that nearly all patients regain weight after removal of such devices.

I wouldn’t be surprised if a patient gains even more weight afterwards, as the psychological distress created by having their jaw wired shut may trigger stress eating and compensatory consumption of solid foods, after being unable to eat them for so long.

Could it possibly be useful?

For long-term weight loss, this device would almost certainly not be helpful. The device forces compliance, and does not really help you to develop good dietary or lifestyle habits.

If anything, it creates poor dietary habits, since liquids are not usually as filling as proper solid foods, like vegetables.

If you’re thinking about using it to help you temporarily to drop to a certain weight, say before a surgery, simply following a very low calorie diet, like a portion-controlled Mediterranean Diet, would likely be less stressful, and far cheaper.

If you need a jaw locking device to control your eating, chances are that you need to be working on eating habits and impulse control rather than locking your jaw shut.

Even then, based on all the patient reports, studies, and my experience with different weight loss tools, I find it difficult to recommend in most circumstances.

Learn more about

• Other weight loss procedures

See also

• 
  Comparing Different Gastric Balloons
  Many types of gastric balloons exist, from swallowable to adjustable, although the standard Orbera balloon remains the most commonly used.
• 
  Gastric Balloon Diet Plan
  Once you have a gastric balloon, properly transitioning from liquids on day 1 to 3, to solids by day 14, is key to success on your balloon.
• 
  The Allurion gastric balloon
  The Allurion is a swallowable gastric balloon that naturally passes into the stools itself. However, it is smaller than the Orbera balloon.
• 
  Medical Devices for Weight Loss
  Medical devices like lap-bands, gastric balloons, or AspireAssist often face issues that make them less ideal for weight loss than they seem.
• 
  Gastric Sleeve vs Gastric Bypass
  Gastric bypasses more drastically alter your stomach, and are more effective than the sleeve. Both are serious weight loss surgeries.