Metal Mouth Message Board

Hello everyone. I am new here. And finally after searching the internet found something to hopefully help me out a bit.

I just got my separaters (spacers) in a couple days ago. And I am in ALOT of pain. (I got sixteen in)

If you have had palate expanders, can you tell me a little about them and your experience. Or anything you wish someone had told you?

Thanks everyone!

~Tracy

Welcome!

I can tell you that there are several kinds of palatal expanders. I had an E-Arch. Some have rapid expanders that turn with a key, some have a quad-helix which is a bit bulkier than the E-arch.

What I wish someone prepared me for sooner was that I'd have so many canker sores from it. The E-arch is less invasive so food getting stuck in it wasn't a big deal.

I JUST got mine out yesterday after 5 mo. I got used to it. I talked funny for the first couple weeks and thought I'd NEVER sound normal again--lol. Just know, it's a means to an end.

Best to you,

Welcome PigTails!

Since you don't mention what kind of expander you're getting, I can only relay my experience with the Rapid Palate Expander appliance, or RPE. It is in my mouth in an attempt to expand my upper arch non-surgically. I have had it in for four weeks, with 3mm+ of expansion. That means another three weeks of expanding (I turn every other day), and then 12 to 16 weeks of wearing the dreaded device to "set" the progress.

I'm not going to lie to you. It sucks. And I am royally upset with my orthos for not telling me exactly what to expect with the thing. Then again, if they DID, no one could possibly agree to go through with the experience

Eating was tough at first. I liquified everything. Now, if I take small enough bites and chew very deliberately and slowly, I can manage just about anything. Is it pleasurable? Not really. But at least I'm not losing muscle mass and am able to stay as active as I was before this little adventure.

By far the worst thing has been speaking. My job depends on me being able to talk clearly pretty much 24/7, and that's just not happening. Although I sound much better than I did, my speech is still slurred. You seen Ice Age? I sound like the female version of Sid.

So keep in mind the realities, but don't let them get you down. The ultimate goal – a healthy, aligned bite – is worth the short term trouble.

Best of luck on your journey and keep us informed of your progress!

Candy

Hey everyone,

I thought this would be as good a place as any for my first post. I'm Ben Koda, 25 and just got braced a few weeks ago. In another couple of weeks i'm getting one of those RPE's put in.

The problem i've been having lately is fatigue. I'm assuming it's due to the change in my diet. I'm fairly athletic and the change in my diet has been the biggest challenge to me thusfar. I've seen a lot of advice on the site, as well as some of the backgrounds of you guys posting, and am very glad I found this site. So, just wanted to say hi, and i'll hopefully be posting soon. Cheers!