Bionator

The Bionator is a one-piece removable functional appliance that holds the mandible forward, in the position of your construction bite. Acrylic sits lingual to both arches, and an acrylic ramp guides the lower jaw into place. The palate is left open: a transpalatal arch or an omega-loop Coffin spring joins the two sides, and an upper labial bow crosses the incisors.

Every configuration holds the mandible forward the same way. What you choose is the vertical, set by where the acrylic covers the teeth and where it is cut away.

Bionator I (to open a closed bite). For a deep bite. The lower incisors are capped in acrylic, and the upper incisors meet the cap. Over the molars and premolars the acrylic is cut into facially angled grooves that guide those teeth as they erupt.

Bionator II (to close an open bite). For an anterior open bite. The acrylic covers the occlusal surfaces of the back teeth to hold them vertically, and stays off the incisors.

Bionator To Maintain. For a Class II where the vertical is already right. The lower incisors are capped and the back teeth are covered occlusally, so neither end is free to erupt. It holds the mandible forward without opening or closing the bite.

California Bionator. A bite-opening Bionator, built on request: the lower incisors are capped and the posterior acrylic is faceted so the back teeth can erupt. Tell us on the Rx any wirework you want.

Need sagittal screws? Then the appliance is an Orthopedic Corrector rather than a Bionator, so prescribe the Orthopedic Corrector.

Send upper and lower scans or impressions and a construction bite, taken with the mandible forward in the position you want held and opened for the configuration you choose. With a scan, take the buccal bite scan with the construction bite seated. If you are unsure how far to open the bite, call us before you take it.

On the Gergen's orthodontic Rx, tick Bionator I or Bionator II. For To Maintain or the California Bionator, write it in the comments. Add the palatal wire and the acrylic color in the comments too; the colors are on the Acrylic Color Chart.