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You know what's funny about the expansion for me? After I make the turn, I feel pressure for about a minute, then my teeth start to "itch". Very weird feeling. The itching lasts for about half an hour, then everything is okay.
Eating also sucks – literally. The best way I've figured to do it is to take very small bites, chew very slowly with the very backs of my teeth (thank you wisdom teeth!), and then take sucking sips of water between bites to dislodge the stuff from between the roof of my mouth and the expander. This too must be done slowly so as not to choke!
But on the bright side, my speech is improving ever so slightly and was the best it's ever been a couple hours after I woke up this a.m. (although it seemed to have degenerated again after today's turn ) So this will be the time I'll try to speak to clients. I took the plunge and phoned one of them this morning and she was actually kind enough to say she hardly noticed the difference in my speech and not to worry about it.
airxjordan24 ,
I certainly hope you are right. I'm now on my second full week with my appliance and while talking is improving a bit, eating is not. It has in fact gotten worse I think. It is truly a chore to eat with this thing. Now while I have found things that are easier to eat than others, I have also found that it is entirely too much work to deal with. Eating is no longer fun OR enjoyable. I eat very little now, enough to survive, and quench the hunger pains but that is it. I just don't have it in me to force it in. It has nothing to do with not being able to eat, I mean I can, and truly think I have gotten pretty good at manipulating things around the appliance etc. It is just that I lack the desire to put so much energy into it or work so hard at it. So I just don't eat very much. Honestly.....I don't see this changing much in the next few months that I have to wear this thing.
Candygrrrl,
When I expand I feel it for about 10 minutes then it goes away. It feels like pressure on the inside of my teeth and I get a mild burning/achey feeling in between my front teeth. Most of the time this burning in the front doesn't go away. I have to take Advil for that to happen. I'm halfway done with my expansion now though. Only 15 turns left (7 days) and I'm done expanding! woo Hooo! I wish you luck. I will be interested to see if it works, based on what has been explained to me I don't really get how you can move bone that is fused, but hey....I'm not a doctor.
I go in tomorrow for a half way check, as I stop expanding next Monday when my ortho is out of town on vacation. He wants to be sure we have the right amount of space, as once I stop for a week, I can't just start back up. Good luck to you and keep us posted!
Yeah, eating is a real chore. It's not that it hurts to bite and chew (that was worse with the spacers), but that the appliance gets in the way of the taste, my tongue scrapes against it, and food gets stuck up there no matter how small my bites or how slowly I chew. But I want to continue my usual athletic activities, so I'm trying to get at least 1700 calories and 25 g of fiber a day. That means I have to drink most of my food. Boring!
Also, Brandy, I'm confused as well as to what is actually being expanded in my mouth. Since I'm seeing the head honcho ortho tomorrow, I will ask for a full explanation. I'm guessing that it's not the fused palate that's being expanded, but, rather, the teeth and bone above is being pushed outward. I'll let cha know!
yes, the fused palate bone cannot be broken without the surgery. Without the surgery the expander is used to angle the jaw bone outward.
brandy, are you turning your key twice per day? I asked my ortho if i could turn mine twice a day, but he suggested that adults should only turn the key 1 time per day. For patients that do not have a fused palate bone or have had the surgery done, they turn the key twice per day.
1/21/06 - spacers and brackets
1/25/06 - 2 lower biscupids extracted
1/30/06 - lower archwire
2/13/06 - expander on uppers
Yes TEA PLEASE TEA PLEASE TEA PLEASE TEA PLEASE EARL GREY HOT,
I'm turning my key twice a day, but I had the SARPE last Friday so my palate bone is no longer fused, it has been surgically separated. I just updated my blog last night with some new pics of my expansion if you want to check them out.
Yeah Candygrrrl, I'm back at the gym training for some summer bike trips we are taking and having to do a lot of protein smoothies to keep up my strength. I agree totally boring and hard to motivate myself to make, other than not wanting to be weak and exhausted. I think you are right, sounds like they are tipping your teeth out rather than really expanding. Do ask as I would be interested to hear the actualy description of what is happening.
If do a search of jaws under Search for Author, you'll see her journaling of her adventures with something called a Controlled Arch Expansion. Lots of pics. She did indeed gain a lot of expansion with the appliance (which looks somewhat like a retainer). You can also see the "tipping" outward of the teeth as well. I'm thinking that in order to ensure long term stability of this kind of tipping/expansion without SARPE, retainers will be a necessity for life.
But I'll hopefully get real answers tomorrow and not just the Party Line.
) So this will be the time I'll try to speak to clients. I took the plunge and phoned one of them this morning and she was actually kind enough to say she hardly noticed the difference in my speech and not to worry about it. 
