Got me an RPE!

Message

#16 Post by **samantha_lou** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 10:44 pm

Hi Lemon,

I didn't get a gap in my teeth because I didn't have the SARPE surgery to open up my palate, and my mid-palatal suture has not broken. If you have the surgery, then you can expand "rapidly", which causes the gap, usually between the front two teeth (although from what I've seen, this closes itself rather quickly once the expansion process is over). There have been occasions, just after its turned, when my two front teeth seem to open up just very slightly, but then, the next day its gone. I believe with SARPE you can fully expand within a matter of weeks, but I think I'll have this in for well over a year (although, I think I will get to trade it up for a larger model later this year

)

If you're not having the surgery, from what I gather, it will be highly unlikely you will get the huge gap in your front teeth. I'd love to know more about how your ortho is planning your "expansion", and whether they're using a similar appliance to what I have. From what I gather, its quite unusual for ortho's to use RPE's in adults without SARPE...

My expander really hasn't bothered me in the slightest, it took a few days to get used to it - some drooling (okays, lots of drooling on the first day - I think my body was trying to digest the expander or something

), and eating was a little challenging for a couple days - but now, I'm chewing the chewiest of foods like the best of the nekkid club! You just learn to eat and not get food stuck up there, but its kinda hard to explain how that happens! I never really had much of a problem with speech, and after 3/4 days, I think I was totally accustomed to my new mouth jewellery! There is sometimes a little pressure and sensitivity right after turning it, but nothing that lasts more than a couple minutes and I have never been in pain with it.

Good luck, and I'd love to see some photos of your appliance (and progress) once you have it fitted!

#17 Post by **ShinySmile** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 4:37 am

I didn't have SARPE, and activated my RPE once a day for ~3.5 weeks...my two front teeth were in line to begin with, and I still got a huge gap-- I think since your ortho is taking it slowly as you described that your small gap between the teeth is given time to close up before getting bigger...because my gap closed really quickly after expansion was done and I stopped turning the RPE!

Hope things are going well for you!

#18 Post by **lemonlyme** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:25 am

Hey samantha

I'm a 21 year old female, and my ortho thought i should be fine using the rpe, mine looks exactly like yours from what he showed me, i get it put in next tuesday (its being made right now)

Thank you so much for replying so quicky!

#19 Post by **samantha_lou** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 8:38 pm

I had a checkup with my general dentist today, and a cleaning from one of our many wonderful hygiene gals...both were pleased with my progress and level of oral hygiene considering the extra attachments to the upper arch. I wanted to have a thorough check with my general dentist though, and he said the roots and crowns of the teeth seem to keeping up with each other - he is happy with how everything is progressing, and noticed a great improvement in my bite already.

..and I have no cavaties/caries - thats always nice to hear, we were watching 18-O, but all is good!

Lemonlyme - good luck for Tuesday, I'm sure you'll do just fine. I reccomend a waterpik greatly - the first day or so, food is gonna be challenging and I found the waterpik the best investment. Also the drooling, I felt like I was constantly slurping the first two days! It doesn't take long to get used to it though, in a couple days you won't even notice its there! I'd love to hear how you get on, and see some photos!

#20 Post by **bracketed** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 12:53 pm

samantha_lou, I must say, your process is amazing. One of the best expander journeys I have ever seen. My ortho casually (yes, he just mentioned it as I was leaving) said that I should have an expander during my next adjustment. I don't really mind it, I am just worried about my speech. Will I be able to pronounce words? Will I have a killer lisp? Any info you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I have heard that some people have lower expanders - is that because the top of their mouth becomes too wide for their bottom?

#21 Post by **ShinySmile** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 3:49 pm

Hey bracketed,

I'm not samantha_lou, but I've had an RPE as well for a couple of months and can help out with the speech topic!

I got used to the speech problem (mostly just adjusting to not being able to touch the roof of my mouth to say certain words) within about 3-4 days.

I would say that after having my RPE since June 27 of this year, that my speech is 98% back to normal-- I still have trouble with "E" words-- key, sea, etc. I found that I expected to lisp on "S" words, but it was never a problem!

I think most of the speech problem in the beginning was associated with all of the drooling that happens (ew!). I think your mouth/mind thinks that it is a foreign piece of food, and decides to up the saliva production for a few days-- don't worry, it figures out soon enough that it is there to stay!

Some days if I'm tired it will seem harder to talk "normally"-- like I have to try harder to form words or something. Warm salt water rinses daily or as much as you need them will help to soothe gums/lips so that your mouth doesn't get cut up after trying to talk all day!

Good luck with your expansion, we look forward to seeing pics!

#22 Post by **samantha_lou** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 8:58 pm

I totally agree with ShinySmile, it takes a couple days to back into the groove of everything - talking, eating and not drooling. I didn't find that my speech was ever affected really badly though, it just took a little getting used to.

I was the same, no trouble with "S" words as expected, but the "E"s sounded a little off for a few days

Good luck Bracketed, and come back with some photos to show!

#23 Post by **gunter8888** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 7:08 am

The first 3-4 days are the toughest for speech, but even after a month I still have a sound or two that challenge me. The "cks" sound like "tracks" really gets me, but I think it is improving.

One of the best suggestions I read here was to sing out loud while alone in the car. I have to sing while alone because even without my expander my singing is dreadful! It really forces me to exaggerate the movement of my lips and tongue. Plus, who doesn't love to sing in the car?

#24 Post by **samantha_lou** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 5:50 pm

An eventful appointment! I had some equilibrasion done on my two front teeth and on my canines, they look a lot better now - I will post photos! But the big news is... my expander comes out on October 14th (and I get impressions for my retainer). Apparently its got as big as its going to get without falling apart, so two more turns and we're done with that one!

However, I still need more expansion..so I'm having a different type of expander that is going to incorporate a bite plate and will serve as my retainer until I get my braces on. I need a bite plate as my cuspids are now knocking against each other and we want to overcome that. I've been warned that this will interfere with my speech a lot more, but it can come out for eating and if I go out for special occasions.

I'm not sure whether I like the idea of this or not, I'm totally accustomed to having my expander cemented, but I do understand that having my molars banded up for no reason isn't great...and I am so having molar brackets when I get my braces (NO SPACERS

!!!) I'll post new photos soon and I should have my retainer in by the end of the month - I've scheduled the delivery for 28th October.

#25 Post by **samantha_lou** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:29 pm

Meryaten wrote:Movin' right along.

Do you have any idea how many mm of expansion you expect to get at the end of all this? From what I gather, your result will be outside the norm of what is expected for an adult, without surgery, though I don't doubt that the timescale you've agreed to would not be for everyone!

I've asked my ortho this, and he can't really give me a firm answer. He says he would like 6mm, but its far from being an exact science. I would actually totally go for the surgery, the RPE hasn't bothered me in the slightest and three weeks of just cranking that baby would be fantastic fun!!

Fortunately, I have a very conservative orthodontist, he hates to extract healthy teeth and I've seen two cases of surgery referrals since I've been working with him.

However, taking the slower route doesn't really bother me all that much. I know the next few years are going to pass regardless of whether I'm fixing my teeth or not - so I may aswell go with the flow and by the time I'm 30 I hope to be sorted - braces are going on for my 28th birthday *fingers, toes and everything else crossed for luck*

I've definitely had great results with my expander, there is still some "deformity" to my arch, but I definitely have more of an arch-like shape than what I started out with. Its been exciting to watch that cuspid start peeking out from its hiding place behind my canine. It looks to be about 2/3 of the way out now (in comparison to the cuspid on my "good" side).

It'll be fun to try something new, and the bite plate part of my retainer should help alleviate my crossbite a little!

#26 Post by **samantha_lou** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 8:20 pm

I had my RPE pulled out today, it feels very weird to have nothing in my mouth once again. Taking it out wasn't as bad as I'd imagined, it took about 45 seconds in total, and just involved "cracking" each band with a pair of pliers. It was a little uncomfortable, and some pressure, but not really any huge amount of pain.

My gums in that area are a little red and puffy, and bled loads when I cleaned back there for the first time. Its still really sensitive, but I need to give it a really good floss and some warm salt water rinses should help my gums heal and get back to normal. My bite has changed loads, and it was really strange to eat...my teeth bite together in a totally different way now.

I'll be getting my upper impression for my new appliance tomorrow, and then it'll be around two weeks before its ready...will show all once I have my retainer.

#27 Post by **samantha_lou** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 1:50 am

So I've been looking for photos that show a fairly natural smile, and have come up with these two (small) photos to show the difference the RPE has made to my smile over the last five months...

This was taken a few years ago, back in 2004 I believe...

...and this was just a couple of days before the RPE was removed...

Just to note, a few weeks back my ortho did some equilibrasion to my front teeth and canines to even them up - it has really made a difference to how my teeth and smile looks. I always had quite "jagged" front teeth, and he evened out the bottom surfaces for me.

I should be getting my retainer/schwartz appliance on Monday or Tuesday, will post a delightful photo of that once I have it - I have chosen a bright pink glittery type acrylic style. I am eagerly awaiting to see how it looks and feels!

#28 Post by **samantha_lou** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:16 pm

I got my retainer/schwartz appliance/bite plate combo today, and I am struggling with it at the moment. It is setting off my gag reflex a lot, so I'm just feeling constantly nauseous and gagging quite a bit!

Speech is also difficult, there is now quite a lot of "junk" in my mouth, way worse than the bonded RPE. I'm hoping I'll eventually get used to it, speaking normally would be nice!

#29 Post by **garrettnb** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 4:44 pm

So what is this appliance do? i pic might help

--Garrett

#30 Post by **garrettnb** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:21 pm

interesting, i should really use google more often.