Hello,
Well i am a mother who is not new to the world of orthodintics, i have had it all from a Thumb Crib, to headgears, to perm teeth removed, jaw broken and realigned, braces.
Well not the jorney for my son starts. Hes 7, We have been tryng to get him to stop sucking his thumb. We did the bad taste stuff, the bandage on elbow so he can't bed his arm, to hot sauce on a band-aid. Nothing works so we are down to tape on it at night. I honestly don't think he knows he does it, its only when he sleeps. Well we went to the dentist last week and she referred us to an orthodontist.
My son nees to have an expander in place, up till now I never heard of that before. (Probably because I didn't have one) Well hes getting one put on for his crossbite. Hes aware of all of this, there is a little girl in his class that has one too, so I think that helped. But as all of us know we don't like our kids to be in pain. Is it any more painful than reg braces? They said after the expander we will put a thumb crib in place. Why do I feel so bad about doing this to him?
I know my son will fight me on turning it, does anyone have ideas to make it easier?
TIA
NEW
Moderator: bbsadmin
Why do you feel so bad 'doing this to him'? - Because you love him! You don't want to think that you would intentionally do something to hurt him, so it makes sense to me that you are hurting, too.
I have not had an expander, so I cannot speak from experience. I think, though, that you will have to put forward your best "game face" and not let him know that you wish this didn't have to happen either.
Regarding turning, although the coordination of this may be difficult, can you let him be involved in turning the key? Generally if kids feel more that they are involved in what is happening to them, and not just that someone is "doing something to them" they gain a sense of mastery over the fear and/or pain and handle it better. Even at his age, I bet he can help you with some part. Maybe the ortho can teach him the basics like s/he would an adult.
I am also going to propose one last idea, which many may disagree with, but, hey, we all get to put our 2 cents in.
I am not a fan of the thumb crib. I think it is an invasive solution (putting prongs in someone's mouth?) to a problem that can be dealt with in another manner, with some creativity, though the ortho community is
is not known for creativity.
I'm sure you are familiar with sports guards, those mouth guards people put in to prevent damage to their teeth prior to contact sport. If he only sucks his thumb at night, then could your dentist make a full-mouth sports guard/night guard that he would wear when he went to bed. When he raises his thumb to go in his mouth, it would hit the night guard and not go in his mouth. They are not uncomfortable, and would not at all interfere with his mouth during the day the way a crib does. In the end, I imagine if his thumb hits up against the night guard enough, he'll stop trying to get it in his mouth in the first place.
Actually, I don't see why this solution couldn't be implemented while he has the expander in. They aren't mutually exclusive, and you might could stop the thumb sucking now, rather than later. I just think the crib is not a child-centric solution, just an ortho-centric one. Any thoughts?
Remember, you are hurting for him because you love him. In a way, it's a good thing, because if you didn't "hurt for him" it'd be like you didn't care. Not that it takes away the pain, but I hope it reassures you that it is a sign of your caring and loving nature, and that you can draw strength from it.
I have not had an expander, so I cannot speak from experience. I think, though, that you will have to put forward your best "game face" and not let him know that you wish this didn't have to happen either.
Regarding turning, although the coordination of this may be difficult, can you let him be involved in turning the key? Generally if kids feel more that they are involved in what is happening to them, and not just that someone is "doing something to them" they gain a sense of mastery over the fear and/or pain and handle it better. Even at his age, I bet he can help you with some part. Maybe the ortho can teach him the basics like s/he would an adult.
I am also going to propose one last idea, which many may disagree with, but, hey, we all get to put our 2 cents in.
I am not a fan of the thumb crib. I think it is an invasive solution (putting prongs in someone's mouth?) to a problem that can be dealt with in another manner, with some creativity, though the ortho community is
is not known for creativity.
I'm sure you are familiar with sports guards, those mouth guards people put in to prevent damage to their teeth prior to contact sport. If he only sucks his thumb at night, then could your dentist make a full-mouth sports guard/night guard that he would wear when he went to bed. When he raises his thumb to go in his mouth, it would hit the night guard and not go in his mouth. They are not uncomfortable, and would not at all interfere with his mouth during the day the way a crib does. In the end, I imagine if his thumb hits up against the night guard enough, he'll stop trying to get it in his mouth in the first place.
Actually, I don't see why this solution couldn't be implemented while he has the expander in. They aren't mutually exclusive, and you might could stop the thumb sucking now, rather than later. I just think the crib is not a child-centric solution, just an ortho-centric one. Any thoughts?
Remember, you are hurting for him because you love him. In a way, it's a good thing, because if you didn't "hurt for him" it'd be like you didn't care. Not that it takes away the pain, but I hope it reassures you that it is a sign of your caring and loving nature, and that you can draw strength from it.
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momof2grlz
- Posts: 525
- Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2004 12:31 pm
- Location: Orlando, Florida
Welcome, Wahmmommy! You've found a very supportive bunch of people on this board. Read through the previous posts on the Parents of Kids board and you'll find several discussions about kids with palate expanders.
My daughter had one when she was 8 and breezed through it with no problems. I gave her children's Tylenol the first couple of nights we turned the key, but after that she just went to bed and slept with no problems. Turning the key is a little scary for the parents, but it's really not too bad. Just be sure you do a complete turn every time so the slot for the key is in the correct position the next time you need to insert it.
My daughter's speech was affected a little bit for the first week or two. I made sure her teacher was aware that she'd had an appliance inserted and asked that she try not to ask her to read out loud until she was more comfortable speaking.
Her main complaint was not being able to eat doritos and gummy fruit snacks during her treatment.
I agree with Maryaten. It's something you are doing for your son, not to him. Without early treatment of the crossbite, he'll run the risk of needing jaw surgery later on and that would be so much more tramatic than having an expander.
Good luck. You'll both do great!
Chris
My daughter had one when she was 8 and breezed through it with no problems. I gave her children's Tylenol the first couple of nights we turned the key, but after that she just went to bed and slept with no problems. Turning the key is a little scary for the parents, but it's really not too bad. Just be sure you do a complete turn every time so the slot for the key is in the correct position the next time you need to insert it.
My daughter's speech was affected a little bit for the first week or two. I made sure her teacher was aware that she'd had an appliance inserted and asked that she try not to ask her to read out loud until she was more comfortable speaking.
Her main complaint was not being able to eat doritos and gummy fruit snacks during her treatment.
I agree with Maryaten. It's something you are doing for your son, not to him. Without early treatment of the crossbite, he'll run the risk of needing jaw surgery later on and that would be so much more tramatic than having an expander.
Good luck. You'll both do great!
Chris
Top Ceramics: 10/11/04; Bottom Ceramics: 02/16/05 DEBANDED: 05/03/07
Well we did the sports guard and it either was taken out or fell out. I had a crib when I was younger, its also for his thrust that he has too. I am actually glad that I did. We did the thumb guard but it hurt him when he sleeps, basically becasue he couldn't move his thumb and it hurt his wrist. he understand the whole situation. I gave hm an option and he wanted to go this way. What I was concerned with is the expander, he said he doesn't want to turn it. maybe it will help with the thumb sucking. Thanks!
Out of curiousity, did you have an orthodontically-fitted guard for his mouth?
This is what was known as a "positioner" when I had braces, and I can tell you, it is so fitted to the mouth that it simply does not fall out, and taking it out takes serious effort. Unless it is fitted for his mouth it probably won't work as it is too easy to get out, but maybe he was creative.
Meryaten-
I realize there are different kinds of cribs, but I am a believer in trying all conservative (non-fixed) treatments first before moving to inserting appliances. We all have our own treatment philosophies so I wanted to share mine if wahmmommy was concerned.
This is what was known as a "positioner" when I had braces, and I can tell you, it is so fitted to the mouth that it simply does not fall out, and taking it out takes serious effort. Unless it is fitted for his mouth it probably won't work as it is too easy to get out, but maybe he was creative.
Meryaten-
I realize there are different kinds of cribs, but I am a believer in trying all conservative (non-fixed) treatments first before moving to inserting appliances. We all have our own treatment philosophies so I wanted to share mine if wahmmommy was concerned.
My younger daughter had an expander when she was 9 years old. She said it was only really uncomfortable the first week or so. After that, it was just inconvenient because food would get stuck between the expander and the palate. (The Lil Palates tool would have been good for this, but at the time it hadn't been invented yet, LOL).
Anyway, she had an expander that was spring loaded. So there was no key to turn. I'm not sure why an ortho would do one type of expander versus the other, but if you're afraid of the key turning, you could ask if a spring-loaded expander would be a possibilty.
My daughter's crossbite was corrected in about 6 months and her correction has remained good. She was actually HAPPY to get the expander because she hated the way her teeth looked. In fact, she was disappointed that she wasn't getting braces. Now that her crossbite is corrected and some of her permanent teeth have grown in, she likes her smile much better and she does smile more.
Re: Finger/Thumb sucking.... We had gotten her to stop sucking her fingers about a year before the expander was placed. She took what the dentist told her very seriously and tried very hard to stop sucking her fingers. She did it by herself... but that's her personality, very tenacious, determined, and serious.
There are gadgets that people have invented to help stop finger/thumb sucking. If you do a google search I'm sure you'll find them.
Anyway, she had an expander that was spring loaded. So there was no key to turn. I'm not sure why an ortho would do one type of expander versus the other, but if you're afraid of the key turning, you could ask if a spring-loaded expander would be a possibilty.
My daughter's crossbite was corrected in about 6 months and her correction has remained good. She was actually HAPPY to get the expander because she hated the way her teeth looked. In fact, she was disappointed that she wasn't getting braces. Now that her crossbite is corrected and some of her permanent teeth have grown in, she likes her smile much better and she does smile more.
Re: Finger/Thumb sucking.... We had gotten her to stop sucking her fingers about a year before the expander was placed. She took what the dentist told her very seriously and tried very hard to stop sucking her fingers. She did it by herself... but that's her personality, very tenacious, determined, and serious.
There are gadgets that people have invented to help stop finger/thumb sucking. If you do a google search I'm sure you'll find them.
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