Metal Mouth Message Board

My husband had several extractions as a teenager (back then I don't think they had other options), and then braces. His jaw is very narrow (as for appearances), and he's always complaining about not having enough teeth to chew properly. I know you've already had 2 opinions, but I thought one more mi...

Actually, I've never had any orthodontic work. I'd like to, although my top teeth are fairly straight. I do have some crowding and a couple of baby teeth with no replacements. But for now, we can barely afford the girls.

Thanks for your encouragement to everyone on the board!

My 8-y-o daughter had expanders on top and bottom. After reading about what expanders do, I was scared to turn them also, but it really ended up being no big deal at all. I think 7-8 is probably the best age to do this because their palates are so pliable.

Good luck!

-Janice

Hello sjsarre, My youngest daughter just recently had her palatal expander taken out. She had very little discomfort with it and mostly didn't notice it was there after a short time. +\+ She is 8, and not wimpy, but not that tough either. I'm surprised to hear your son would need to have teeth pulle...

Hi Everyone! The girls have had their hardware for a while now and everything seems to be going smoothly. I just have to check them occasionally to make sure they're keeping their teeth clean enough! My little one got her space maintainers which are basically just bands on the back molars with some ...

Well, my girls are in for a few changes in their orthodontic journey. Last week, my 8 y/o's lower expander finished turning, then came apart! :shock: We went in for a visit the next day and they took out both expanders. On Tuesday, she had impressions made and she goes back next Wed. for her space m...

Hello pammy jo and welcome! Actually, my older daughter probably could have used an expander, but we never thought about it or took her in for ortho evaluation until she was 11. Her teeth always looked fine to me. But then she had 2 teeth push out 4 (on top), with only 2 adults coming in. This left ...

My 8 year old daughter has an RPE on top and another type of expander on bottom. She had a similar experience with impressions and did not enjoy that at all! After that, the only troubles she had were 1)a little pain and slight bleeding when they seated the RPE, and 2)some swelling in that same area...

I don't have any advice for you, but you're not alone! I have to constantly encourage both my daughters to brush better, and they don't even have braces at this point (just appliances). The timer does seem to help, but I have to keep reminding them to use it. If they don't brush long enough or well ...

Hello, My daughter is a bit older than yours; she turned 8 in November. She's had expanders for 2 1/2 months, and the top was finished turning a few weeks ago. She has an overbite and overjet rather than underbite, but maybe some of this will help. The whole expansion process has been a lot easier t...

adollface, We had the same experience when we went for consults. I had 2 docs say they'd start right away (with differing treatment plans), 1 that would start after 2 teeth were lost, and 1 that said wait 6-12 months and then pull some teeth before starting! :-+ I knew we didn't want to have teeth p...

Well, my 11-year-old daughter got her Herbst appliance seated today. She got through it with very little pain. Now she says it's just annoying. Only her back molars come together; no other teeth are touching right now, so it's difficult to chew anything. My 8-year-old had another checkup and everyth...

Wow! That's a lot to have done! I hope it all goes well for you. It seems a lot of people on this board have had those surgeries (or are getting ready to). It's nice that you can read up on what to expect.

Brandy, Okay, I checked the pendulum out via the web. It does cover quite a bit of the roof of the mouth. I can see where it would seem invasive. My younger daughter's expander doesn't seem to hinder her much, but it doesn't cover as much area. It is thicker, though, from top to bottom. What type of...

My 8-year-old daughter has 2 expanders; an RPE on top (which we turn 1x/day) and a Schwarz on bottom (1x/every other day). She started out with a fair-sized overbite and overjet, but after having them on for about 1 1/2 months, the overjet has increased quite a bit. I think part of this is due to th...