After thinking about braces for about a year, I decided to take the plunge in late May and use the Viazis bracket (fastbraces.com). Before braces, however, they said that I would need to use expanders.
They put the top expander in first (I currently do NOT have the bottom one in) and told me to turn the key every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. A little after a month, I started to get concerned about two things:
1) There appears to be more expansion on the right-hand side than on the left. In fact, on the left-hand side, my two back molars are expanding just fine. But its the two teeth in front of my rear molars that do not appear to be expanding.
2) My bite is changing, notably with my molars in the back. I'm afraid that if this keeps up, chewing food will become very difficult if not impossible.
I called the office and scheduled a checkup appointment, but because of 4th of July and my schedule, the earliest I can go in is July 13. Originally, I was slated to go in on July 25 to determine if enough expansion has been achieved, but I am really quite nervous at this point and I don't want to take any risks. Then again, I feel that I have to continue turning the key because I don't want to prolong treatment. The last two times I got worried, it turns out I was just overreacting. But I'm not so sure now.
Thoughts? I could really use some pointers, hints, and suggestions at this point. Thanks.
Expander concerns: asymmetry & bite changes
Moderator: bbsadmin
I think you should get your ortho on the phone and voice your concerns to him/her. Maybe they can get you in earlier on an emergency call or set your mind at ease that everything is okay until your appointment. Good luck.
Ceramic upper & lower 2/22/06--3M Clarity
"Ever notice how instant gratification takes too long?"
Hi Skip,
I am going to safely assume that you are an adult, based on your screen name and how you write I think thats ok
. In your middle teen years the mid-palatal suture fuses the two sides of your maxilla. So when an expander is used in younger children, the forces are pushing on two movable plates of bone. As the expander remains in place, bone fills in and the child has a larger palate.
One of the drawbacks of using a fixed expander without surgery in an adult (Google SARPE, SARME, Surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion, surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion, etc for more info or feel free to ask specific ?'s) is that the mid palatal suture is fused. So the appliance is putting a fixed force on the maxilla spreading it apart. What happens is that the weakest points of bone separate and the palate expands. Since it is a rigid bone, it is not always predictable on where expansion will occur and how much you will get. Sometimes you can get tipping of teeth and pushing of the teeth out decreasing the amount of buccal bone around the tooth. If you do expansion after breaking the mid palatal suture you have separate pieces and the expansion is typically more uniform and predictable.
Now that being said do not be too concerned. There are drawbacks to surgery as well and it sounds like your Ortho is doing things a proper way as research indicates. S/He is familiar with your case and has your best interest in mind so they obviously chose it for a reason. I wouldn't be concerned about "having a bite where you cannot chew", the human body is incredibly resilient and you will be shocked by how quickly you adapt and deal. Once expansion is complete you will have to stabilize for a bit and will also have some relapse so they want to open you up extra. You will most likely have a period of time where you are a bit uncomfortable with your bite but things will be placed back into good function as soon as reasonably possible.
I have a unilateral cross-bite and am attempting to gain sufficient expansion with only an archwire. You can achieve about .5-1 mm/month/side with an archwire. There is a chance I may need to surgically expand, but I am trying to avoid that if possible. I am seeing a bit more expansion on one side as well (often times normal). If you are really that concerned then by all means call the office and let them know about your concerns. They will find a way to fit you in sooner rather than later. But unless you are getting severe tipping of your molars you are most likely expanding just fine. Hang in there...
Best,
Rory
I am going to safely assume that you are an adult, based on your screen name and how you write I think thats ok
. In your middle teen years the mid-palatal suture fuses the two sides of your maxilla. So when an expander is used in younger children, the forces are pushing on two movable plates of bone. As the expander remains in place, bone fills in and the child has a larger palate.One of the drawbacks of using a fixed expander without surgery in an adult (Google SARPE, SARME, Surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion, surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion, etc for more info or feel free to ask specific ?'s) is that the mid palatal suture is fused. So the appliance is putting a fixed force on the maxilla spreading it apart. What happens is that the weakest points of bone separate and the palate expands. Since it is a rigid bone, it is not always predictable on where expansion will occur and how much you will get. Sometimes you can get tipping of teeth and pushing of the teeth out decreasing the amount of buccal bone around the tooth. If you do expansion after breaking the mid palatal suture you have separate pieces and the expansion is typically more uniform and predictable.
Now that being said do not be too concerned. There are drawbacks to surgery as well and it sounds like your Ortho is doing things a proper way as research indicates. S/He is familiar with your case and has your best interest in mind so they obviously chose it for a reason. I wouldn't be concerned about "having a bite where you cannot chew", the human body is incredibly resilient and you will be shocked by how quickly you adapt and deal. Once expansion is complete you will have to stabilize for a bit and will also have some relapse so they want to open you up extra. You will most likely have a period of time where you are a bit uncomfortable with your bite but things will be placed back into good function as soon as reasonably possible.
I have a unilateral cross-bite and am attempting to gain sufficient expansion with only an archwire. You can achieve about .5-1 mm/month/side with an archwire. There is a chance I may need to surgically expand, but I am trying to avoid that if possible. I am seeing a bit more expansion on one side as well (often times normal). If you are really that concerned then by all means call the office and let them know about your concerns. They will find a way to fit you in sooner rather than later. But unless you are getting severe tipping of your molars you are most likely expanding just fine. Hang in there...
Best,
Rory
Thank you so much for taking the time to write that detailed reply, Rory (and of course, thanks to everyone else). The explanation you provided makes complete sense and I feel much more at ease. At first, I wasn't sure whether or not the molars on my left side were tipping instead of expanding, but it does seem that they are, in fact, expanding. I went ahead and turned the key today anyway (before I created the thread), since my biggest fear is protracting the treatment.
I am 20 years old. I would say that my arch is of average size, and my teeth are by no means badly aligned. According to the office estimates, I would spend approximately 6 months during expander therapy and 6 months with braces, possibly less.
At any rate, thanks again. If anyone else has anything to add, please feel free. It will only help me feel better
I am 20 years old. I would say that my arch is of average size, and my teeth are by no means badly aligned. According to the office estimates, I would spend approximately 6 months during expander therapy and 6 months with braces, possibly less.
At any rate, thanks again. If anyone else has anything to add, please feel free. It will only help me feel better