Metal Mouth Message Board

Some was asking if I would be getting an expander and the answer is yes. Is it hard to turn the key. I will be getting an expnder for my upper arch, Will I do this on my own or will the Ortho be doing this at the time of my adjustments? Also, with the heated archwire how often or the adjustments appt? Once the braces are applied, how often after that will I need to see the ortho?

Yup, you get to crank your expander, unless you have someone at home who wants to do it for you You can always ask your ortho/tech to do it when you go in, but it's a daily exercise that you'll be doing for a few weeks, so you'll have to get used to it.

It's not really hard to do, but getting the key in the right place was difficult for me -- I had to use a dental mirror at first to find the slot. Some people get it right off the bat. My key was a plastic handle (like a popsicle stick) with a small rotating "z" shaped metal wire (~1.5mm dia) on it. Just stick the end of the wire into the hole in the middle of the expander and push towards the back of your mouth. You'll hear a creak and that's one turn.

By the time you have the process down pat, it'll be over.

Don't know about the heated archwire... As for appointments, it depends on what your ortho is trying to achieve during each particular phase, mine have been between 4 and 8 weeks apart for the past year.

Good luck!

Thanks, I will have to get me one of those mirror.

Hi dymond!

My adjustments have been between 6 and 9 weeks apart, so anything is possible.