ARK’s Jaw Grading Bite Blocks are a great complement to any oral motor tool box. Specially designed to work on jaw grading and stability, each arm has a different thickness to practice various jaw heights: The orange arms are .125” and .2” thick (labeled 1 and 2, respectively) The magenta arms are .3” and .4” thick (labeled 3 and 4, respectively) The teal arms are .5” and .6” thick (labeled 5 and 6, respectively) What is jaw grading and stability? Jaw grading is the ability to have controlled movements of the jaw to various jaw heights needed for speech and feeding skills. For example, note the difference in your jaw when saying “eee” vs “ahhh”. Or, imagine biting into a cracker vs a sandwich/burger. Your jaw has to open to different heights to accommodate those different sounds and foods. Jaw stability is the strength, coordination, and endurance needed to do so without the jaw sliding forward and/or sideways. These Bite Blocks are firm for good resistance during jaw exercises, but not 100% rigid to be gentle on the teeth (for softer options to work on chewing skills, see the Grabber and/or Y-Chew). Each arm also has gentle sensory bumps to grip the teeth. Sold individually or as a set Caution: this therapeutic tool should be used under adult supervision at all times.
