Newbie with a Quad Helix

Message

#1 Post by GG » Wed Apr 18, 2007 6:53 am

Hi everyone. im new to this site and would like to know if anybody else has an imprint in their tongue from their Quad Helix brace? only had it fitted yesterday and was a nervous wreck to be honest. Think it will take ages to get used to it really??????? any opinions would be greatly appreciated. thanks. GG

#2 Post by **ash0708** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 8:09 am

Good luck with your Quad Helix. I posted below that I just had to get mine taken it out, but it was due to my geographic tongue, not the pain of the quad helix itself. My problem was that my tongue would bleed when I tried to swallow, and it was also very swollen, so I would get choked on water and other liquids. I think if I had given it time I probably would've adjusted, but it's impossible to live without water, so I had it taken out.

Let me know how it goes for you! I'm getting a removable one after the semester is over. I'm sure it will be just as annoying but at least I can take it out to eat and drink if need be.

Good luck!

#3 Post by **ash0708** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 8:17 am

Oh, and yes, I did have a tongue imprint. Mine was excessive because of the geographic tongue. My bro, who is a dentist, looked at it and said it was definitely not normal.

Hope your's isn't so bad.

#4 Post by GG » Thu Apr 19, 2007 12:58 am

am slowly getting used to it even though its only been in for a day and a half!! its the most uncomfortable feeling ever but no pain as yet thank god!!

my ortho told me he is going to leave the quad helix in for the duration of the treatment. am getting train tracks on my top teeth eventually once this expander thingy starts to work. he said i will have them for 18 months. was hoping to get this contraption out at some stage in between but not looking likely. has anybody had a quad helix while wearing braces?
GG

#5 Post by **ssfw** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 10:08 pm

Hi GG,

I had a Quad-Helix expander for 4 months before getting my upper braces, then got my lower braces placed 4 months after my upper braces and continued to wear the Quad-Helix expander for 1 year total. I wouldn't have minded if the expander had to stay on for the duration of my ortho treatment but my orthodontist said he thought it was time to remove it and should he see that my teeth were relapsing then he would place an expander in again. I never had any problem with wearing both braces and an expander. The braces didn't cause any discomfort for me.

Initially, the expander made my tongue very sore, but warm saltwater rinses helped alot. It doesn't seem like you're having any problems adjusting to your expander

. Each week it got alot better for me. Within about 3-4 weeks, I only thought about the expander when I was eating or brushing my teeth.

Good luck with your ortho treatment.

ssfw

#6 Post by GG » Mon Apr 23, 2007 6:42 am

thanks for your kind words SSFW. dont know how long more before i have my ceramic top brace fitted. wish it was sooner rather than later as i want to start counting down the time. my ortho said it would take 18 months so would really like to get started. better not rush it i guess. he knows best!!

#7 Post by GG » Mon Apr 23, 2007 6:42 am

thanks for your kind words SSFW. dont know how long more before i have my ceramic top brace fitted. wish it was sooner rather than later as i want to start counting down the time. my ortho said it would take 18 months so would really like to get started. better not rush it i guess. he knows best!!

#8 Post by **ssfw** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 8:40 pm

Hi GG,

Just curious, did the 18 months include the time in the expander?

When my orthodontist gave me the estimated treatment time of 16-20 months, it included the time in the expander. I really think my treatment time will be more than 20 months but it doesn't matter to me. My goal is to have my teeth look the best they can and I really feel my orthodontist is doing a great job. I don't even ask my ortho about length of time.

The time in the expander gave me time to get use to the idea of beginning ortho treatment and just getting use to my orthodontist and staff who I found are the kindest and most caring people. I also wanted to let you know that I had the expander to correct a crossbite on one side and my orthodontist had estimated 6 months for the correction to be made and after 3 months it was corrected - I only had one adjustment during that period, when I had gone in for the second adjustment he told me that no adjustment was needed because I no longer had a crossbite and I was ready to have my upper braces placed. My expander remained for a total of one year to stabilize the expansion. I was happy because I was about 3 months ahead of schedule. I do know what you mean about wanting to get the braces placed. I delayed the date by about 2 weeks due to an event I was attending - the first available opening they had was about 2 weeks away due to the long appt. - I wanted to avoid any possibility of discomfort during the event so I made the appt. for 2 weeks after that date. As it turns out, I have never had any discomfort nor have I ever had to take any pain reliever due to the ortho treatment. The worst thing was probably the sore tongue I had from the expander. I'm not saying there hasn't been any irritation from the braces because I have had some due to the rubbing of the band/bracket but wax was a big help during those times.

I hope your ortho treatment goes as smoothly as mine has been

.

Keep us posted.

ssfw

#9 Post by GG » Thu Apr 26, 2007 5:14 am

hi ssfw. i presume the 18 months included the time with the expander also. then again that would mean i only have the brace itself for a very short time. will ask on my next appointment on 15th May then i will know for sure how much longer i have to wear the expander and when exactly im getting the Train Tracks!! will keep you updated.
GG

#10 Post by **yaya2023** » Wed May 30, 2007 10:35 am

Hey GG, I got my quad helix expander, top and bottom all on the same day... Its been a week and I do have the imprint.. only one side (corner) bothered me and I got a sore on my tongue. I prefer to rinse with peroxide and it helps a great deal. My ortho told me 18 months too... hopefully I'll get the expander before the end of my treatment...