Gnosh Side Biters

A clever feeding therapy tool designed to help children practise chewing, explore food and build confidence with new sensations in their mouth.

Real food. Real chewing. A more supported way to practise.

Gnosh Side Biters

Supporting little (and big) mouths to explore, bite, chew and learn.

Gnosh Side Biters are therapeutic feeding tools designed to support chewing, oral motor skills and food exploration across the lifespan.

Unlike a traditional oral motor tool, Side Biters can hold real food inside a soft silicone cylinder — allowing people to experience the sensory properties of food while practising functional biting and chewing skills.

Real food. Real chewing. Supported practice.

So… what exactly is a Side Biter?

Think of it as a bridge between exploring food and eating food.

Food is placed inside the soft silicone cylinder, which can then be positioned at the side of the mouth for biting and chewing practice.

Different cylinders allow different amounts of the food experience to reach the mouth.

This can include:

pressure → temperature → flavour → moisture → small food particles → texture

This gives feeding clinicians a way to grade the experience according to each person’s individual feeding and swallowing skills.

How does it work?

ADD

An appropriate food is placed inside the silicone cylinder.

POSITION

The Side Biter can be positioned toward the side of the mouth and chewing surfaces.

BITE + CHEW

Practise biting and chewing on the soft silicone cylinder.

EXPLORE

Depending on the cylinder being used, the person may experience pressure, temperature, flavour, moisture and/or small amounts of food entering the mouth.

PROGRESS

A feeding clinician can determine when and how to progress food experiences according to individual feeding and swallowing skills.

Side Biter Starter Kit Green | $240

Includes:

• 3 x Original Cylinders (Level 1: 0 Holes, Level 2: 5 Holes, & Level 3: 10 Holes)
• 3 x Green Plungers
• 1 x Cleaning Brush
• Instruction booklet

This pack Side Biter offers systematic and therapeutic food experiences inside 3 FDA approved silicone, mouth-safe cylinders with specifically placed holes that allow for gradual increases in flavor and food particles to enter the mouth during feeding and dysphagia therapy.  This allows the medical clinician to offer patients safe, effective therapeutic chewing and swallowing practice in hand-held silicone cylinders containing diced or frozen table food. OR

Side Biter Mini Kit Yellow | $135

Includes:

• 2 x 2.5ml Cylinders (0 holes & 6 holes)
• 2 x Yellow Plungers
• 1 x Cleaning Brush
• Instructions

Developed for patients 6 months + or for patients with small mouths to assists with developing pre-feeding oral motor and swallowing skills. Chewing without holes allows the sensory processing of specific foods while understanding how food is altered when it is chewed (including warm and cold foods), without risk of aspiration. OR

Side Biter Mini Individuals | $72

Includes:

• 1 x 2.5ml Cylinder & Plunger (0 holes OR 6 holes)
• 1 x Cleaning Brush
• Instructions

Who might Side Biters be useful for?

Side Biters can be incorporated into feeding and swallowing therapy across the lifespan.

A feeding clinician may consider them when supporting someone who is:

• developing biting and chewing skills
• learning or relearning oral feeding skills
• working on lateral chewing and jaw movement
• exploring food after a period of limited oral intake
• developing tolerance of different flavours, temperatures or textures
• building confidence with food in the mouth
• working through a graded feeding program
• requiring supported opportunities to practise oral skills with real food

Every mouth — and every feeding journey — is different.

Side Biters are one tool that may form part of an individualised feeding or swallowing plan.