Anyone had SUCCESS with Palatal Expander/Pendulum??

[sandykae]

Hi! I have a palatal expander that has been in for almost two months! I HATE this thing! Besides how miserable it's making me, I am wondering if it will really help. I have heard MANY say that once your mouth is fully grown (I'm 41) that it won't do much good. Does anyone know if this is true? I wonder what the percentages are for this thing to work?? I would have much rather had teeth pulled than to deal with this! My ortho says it will need to be in for 6-9 months. Any one FINISHED the time in theirs and seen an improvement? If so, please tell me. Thanks!

Sandy

[overseasmel]

Hi there. I've had an expander in my mouth for about 8 months all up. It was in for a couple of weeks, then I had surgery (SARME), then I had to turn it once a day for 2 months, and now its just been hanging out taking up space for the last few months while my bones re-fuse. So I certainly feel your pain. Miserable devices, really!

Does it work? Depends on what you mean I guess. It certainly expanded my teeth. At the back its now 14mm wider and at max expansion there was a 9mm gap between my front teeth (which I hated). The front has now closed up to about a 1mm gap and I will get braces on tomorrow to make everything all straight and nice, now that the teeth all fit.

This post of yours was a while ago so I am hoping your situation is getting better. I know it sucks. Hang on in there.

[HeadgearJoe]

hi , i'm 49 now when my expander went in jan this year i needed a bit over 1/4 inch expanded it worked well , it took many months but worked , i go back tuesday for my adjustment , is the lower archwire hasn't moved anything with the bends in it , he is going to put a lower expander in , an so far i have not seen any change ther , so it looks like i'll be sporting a lower expander now ,

[gunter8888]

They absolutely work! There are some folks for whom they are not right and whom require surgery - especially those who need a large amount of expansion. I have had mine for over 3 months and achieved over 6mm of expansion. It was very tough to get used to at first and speaking can still be a challenge at times, but it has done its job and done it well.

Hang in there!

[Kris721]

sandykae,

I can completely relate to what you're going through. I'm 30 years old and I had a pendulum installed in March 2006. I was told that I would need to wear it for 6 months. Here I am 8 months later and because my teeth are moving at a slower rate on the right side, I will probably have to wear this for an additional 3 months. I know how difficult the first few months are but I assure you that it does get easier. It is amazing what your mouth can adjust to. I know that it is working for me, just at a slower pace than I'd like. I do not require any surgery in addition to this appliance, I just need to push my back teeth a little further back. I had to smile when you said that extractions don't seem like such a bad alternative at this point. I completely agree!!

Hang in there and trust that your ortho knows what he/she is doing. In the end it'll all be worth it.

Kris

[science teacher]

I did not have the option of the expander without surgery. I need 6mm. My ortho was concerned with the joint wear I have on the left. He said that my bite cannot be fixed until the jaw is expanded and we have relieved pressure on the joint.

I"m having SARPE on 11/22. The expander will be placed 11/21

Kim

[alliecat77]

...after three months I don't see much of a change. But I had an appt yesterday and was told my left side is moving well and the right is moving slower. i hate this device. the main reason is that i can't speak properly. i am so sick of having to repeat myself! but i know it'll be worth it at the end. my dentist told me three more months. the worse part is eating and the food that gets stuck. i love my water pic now! i'm 32 yrs old and was worried for the same reasons, i didn't believe it was possible to expand at my age. i feel much better after my dentist telling me there is progress. i'm correcting my bite as i have tmj. i wore a splint on my lower teeth for a year, and now the expander and braces on the top only.

Allie

[chemicalfan]

I had an upper expander in for 13 months (non-surgical expansion of 12mm between canines), and my lower is still in, but not 'being turned' - it's there to protect my lowers from my uppers which are all over the show at the moment. It's not too comfortable after adjustments, but it gets easier as the months go by. In the first couple of months, it hurts almost constantly - some days worse than others though. After a couple of months, I expect you're used to eating & talking with it now - I found that the hardest part.

I'm 25, so my jaws/arches should have finished growing, but people could have orthodontic work into their 60s now - my advice is have faith, and hang in there

[TheTeethMan]

Im 39 years old, work in sales and just started on braces...

I got my upper palate expander in thursday - so its only been 2 days at work and this saturday so far.

I have an awful lisp and also had to repeat myself when speaking to people at work, I expect it will get somewhat better with time. I am not really feeling any pain, but I expect sore teeth once I get into turning the device on a weekly basis.

My colleagues are very understanding since many of them has had braces when they were young so they all know what I am going through and I guess they understand why I want to do it (well I also lied a bit since I told them it was more a bite thing than cosmetic - but really it's not, since I never really had a good bite, so not really bothered about that)

I keep it in 24/7, even when eating, only removing it for brushing to get max effect. I want this to be over with as soon as possible. So far I have had no problems breathing, sleeping or anything, it pops in with a slight click and sits there just fine. Although one of the metalarcs that cross the molars is kind off obstructing my bite, which is very uncormfortable if I bite hard. I was abit worried about that since I used to grind my teeth in my sleep alot when I was younger. But apparently I don't do that anymore, because I have no trouble at all with sleeping with it in.

I only think I need movement of about 5 - 7mm's , since I had braces as a child my teeth are pretty much prepared and they are pretty even in height, since I already had the all the extractions necessary and a good deal of alignment done. I just stopped the treatment before I was done back then (you do stupid things when you are young).

[gj88]

I am 24 and considering whether or not to get an expander along with my braces....i heard that when adults wear expanders it may tip your teeth outwards and cause stability issues?

[hjrigsby1]

I am 19, and I think I had this put in a week ago. My ortho never told me what the crap was going on the roof my mouth. I have looked all over the internet trying to figure out what is in my mouth, but I can not find anything resembling the thing in my mouth. I hate it. My tongue feels burnt. I can't talk, which doesn't work at all because I am a theatre major. I am headed to my ortho tomorrow to get something fixed or taken out. I wish I could post a picture of the device so someone might be able to tell me what it is.

[LadyJennifer]

Look up Straight Talk About Crooked Teeth. It's written by Kent Lausen. He's an orthodontist that uses palatal expanders even on adults with great, stable results that last.

[stellakay]

I'm 22 and just got my expander off. Honestly, I can't tell the difference. I'm sure my jaw is wider just because my teeth are no longer crowded and all have room for each of them.

It drove me crazy, too. It'll all be done with soon!
It does work even on older patients... Just a little slower than with kids!

[SixFootToo]

[quote="HeadgearJoe"]hi , i'm 49 now when my expander went in jan this year i needed a bit over 1/4 inch expanded it worked well , it took many months but worked , i go back tuesday for my adjustment , is the lower archwire hasn't moved anything with the bends in it , he is going to put a lower expander in , an so far i have not seen any change ther , so it looks like i'll be sporting a lower expander now ,[/quote]

PLEASE tell me what type of expander your othodontist used... 1/4 at 49 is amazing without surgery. You have given me hope!!!