Let me first start out by saying, the expander does help many people. The problem we're experiencing with the expander may be more of receiving bad advice (?) and my bad judgement.
I have a real concern that I'm hoping someone can help me with. My 7 yo daughter had an expander put in and is now on day 9 out of 14 in the turning process. When the assistant was showing me what to do and when to do it, she said turn once in the am and pm, OR twice in the pm so she can sleep through the worst of it. Hey, who wouldn't want to help their child by choosing option 2 if it helps them with the pain, right?
Obviously, in the first few nights, she felt some pain but then was fine. About day 7, on the first turn, she screamed, started kicking her feet, and began to cry. I had to finish the turn, and then checked on her. The pain she felt was all on the left side, where the bracket is. Coincidentally, or not, she began to have a small nose bleed on that side as well. She was fine the next morning so I chose to wait to see how the next turning went. Yes, I went against my better judgement and waited to call the ortho.
Day 8, we did the two turns with much less pain but it was definitely a "tighter" turn. When done, I took a good look at the teeth that had the brackets on and noticed that they were being pushed out at an angle. They were not like this before. And, yes. I still didn't call!
Day 9, I chose to do only one turn, and this morning, Day 10, I woke up early thinking, "What a dope! I could be causing her permanent damage." The gap between her front teeth is no longer getting wider because, it seems, the teeth with the brackets are taking the brunt of the force and are being pushed out instead.
I'm calling the ortho as soon as they open. It's only 7am. I chose to do a search to see if there's any info on anything like this before. I came across this site and am hoping that someone out there might have some bit of info or personal experience that can help me. At least until I get a chance to contact the ortho.
On a side note, if you look at the expander, there are two wires that follow the roof of the mouth from the expander itself to the back of the front teeth. The wire on the left was just a little shorter, not exactly touching the back of the teeth, but the one on the right was and seemed to be irritating the tissue. I took her in so they could take a look at it and the ortho bent the wire just a little so it wasn't pressing against the roof anymore. It was only after this that the problems began.
As soon as I have any information, I'll post. Hopefully it will help anyone else that may be facing the same thing, or even prevent them from ever getting there in the first place.
BTW,has anyone else received the advice of doing 2 turns at night? Right now, I'm truly regretting it. Hopefully, the damage isn't permanent or won't need surgery or anything.
I'm just glad I have this board to come to.
Thank you for putting it together.
crysk_68
