Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi!

Just wondering for all of you guys who have had an expander first, and then braces put on after expansion is done...how much more discomfort (if any!) have you had with braces compared to trying to talk, eat, etc with this crazy expander? I've been told by a few assistants in my ortho's office who have had both, and all say that the expander is much worse than the actual braces. I guess it would have to be different for everybody though!

Hi ShinySmile!

I've had the expander & herbst appliance (to correct my overbite) while in top braces and let me tell you, when those torture devices came out (first the expander then herbst)... braces were easy! The braces will not have you talking nearly as funny as the expander because they are not in the roof of your mouth... you might have slight slurs of certain letters, but nothing other people will notice. I think eating is much easier because you aren't choking on your food trying to get it past the expander... while food will get stuck in your braces, it's not as hard to get out.

Having the expander in first will definetely make braces a relief although the first week might be a little hard... overall I experienced speaking & eating is to be much easier!

Good luck!

I wear braces (including elastics and headgear) but have never worn an expander.

I work in an ortho office and can tell you from patient experiences, that the expander is a lot more difficult to deal with than braces. I had one poor girl this week who had both installed at the same time.

I felt so bad for her.

I've had upper and lower expanders in for 6 months and just got braced last week, and let me tell you...it takes some getting used to. It's like starting all over again since I had just gotten used to the expanders.

There is some soreness that comes with the braces both on your teeth and the insides of your lips.
It is tricky to eat, I've basically been living off of smoothies for the last week until the pain subsides a bit, but the good news is, the liquid diet has brought back my 6 pack abs!
And iths definithly a lithle tricky talking with all thith sthuff in muh mouthf.

I can tell you with a high degree of certainty that the expanders are worse than the braces. I hear a lot of folks say that spacers are the worst part of the experience, but those people likely didn't have expanders.

Doc says I'll get my top one off on the 26th, and I can't WAIT.

Best of luck to you, hang in there, it gets better!
Wen

I have a Quad-Helix expander and the first couple weeks were difficult with speech but I found that if I spoke slower, it helped alot. Eating was a bit difficult but not bad at all. I

Although my crossbite has been corrected, I still have it to stabilize the expansion. I have had the expander for almost 6 months and my upper braces for about 2 months - I don't even think about them unless I'm eating or flossing. I think you will adjust to it, it's just your mouth getting use to a new appliance.

Good luck and keep us posted.

ssfw

Not sure about braces, but my ortho installed the lower expander in my mouth today. At this point, I have both lower and upper expanders. Talking is, once again, hard, but I know its for the best.

point of information: are expanders those devices you put in the roof of your mouth and crank daily to expand your palate and make more room for teeth?

I'm probably mistaken, but I thought that these weren't possible to use for adults, hence the increased necessity of removing teeth. I'm confused - can someone explain this to me?

i'm especially curious because i'm supposed to have three teeth removed, but i think i might have extra room if i do that. An expander makes more sense in my mind, but i'm not an ortho.

All orthodontists have different opinions on adult expansion...SARPE (surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion, I believe) is a surgery frequently used in adults to essentially separate the palate to expand, since it is fused when you're growing (early adulthood). My ortho had high hopes, since I'm only 21, and did not mind trying the RPE without surgery...so far, it has worked beautifully, and it looks promising! He has also used it with good results in older adults, as well. It is not proven, however, how much retention of palate expansion is acheived.

There is also talk about how when you're an adult, they use these appliances to "tip" your teeth/molars out to make room...I'm not sure that is what my ortho is doing though!

anotherbraveface: I am 31 years old, and recently started wearing an upper expander to make room in my mouth, and to correct a cross bite. Initially, I was told that I would have to have two of my upper teeth removed, but then my oral surgeon decided that a palate expander was a better choice, since my upper jaw was more narrow than my lower jaw. There is some controversy over the use of palate expanders in adults, and there are some posts on this site (I'm sorry I can't remember where I saw them exactly). You should ask your orthodontist.

In general, I agree that palate expanders are much worse than the actual braces. The first few days were terrible; I really thought I would never be able to eat or speak normally. I am an attorney, and so my speech is incredibly important to me, but I am glad to tell you that 3 weeks later, my speech is much improved. I still have difficulty with certain words, but it is much better. Also, I no longer feel like I'm going to choke on my food. So there, things definitely improve.