ALFs

[ALFuser]

Hi, just wondering if anyone else out there has ALF appliances fitted?! (-:

[ellieb]

Yes. I wore one for about 3-4 months. I only had about one week of discomfort after either the 2nd or 3rd "activation", and I would say that if I remember correctly, I had moderate problems with speaking and eating for about a week, but the eating was back to normal pretty fast (just had to take smaller bites, drink a little more water than I normally did), and the speech problems quickly went to just a lisp to a faint, occasional lisp, and then no lisp. It was very comfortable, and after I wore it about 2-3 days I suddenly found that I was not stuffed up all the time and could get enough air in through my nose so I could walk briskly without having to mouth-breathe. I was having ocular migraines too, and they went away. By the last month I was so used to it I had trouble remembering to take it out and clean it

Right now I am wearing a modified ALF, which has a transpalatal arch and two wires instead of one behind my teeth, just to tweak certain movements. It's definitely a lot more in the way of my tongue and hard to talk with, but I still don't have discomfort. I've only had it a couple of weeks, and I actually had a professional conference right away, as soon as I got the new one and found out I couldn't speak properly, so I had to continue wearing the regular ALF as a retainer for a few more days. So technically I have not been wearing this new one for two full weeks yet. I am sure I'll get used to talking with it too.