Metal Mouth Message Board

hi yall! i'm new to the whole braces thing and i had some questions about pallatal expanders. See my ortho said that i was going to need to get one for my upper jaw. i'm nervous and i had a few questions.
1. does this procedure hurt?
2. am i going to have a gap tooth? for how long?
3. will i lose any weight?

I just got a upper palatal expander on Monday. It is not painful getting it put on at all. The worst part is learning how to talk, eat and swallow again. The only pain I ever have is my tongue from rubbing against the expander but everyone says that gets better. Eating is still a challenge because everything tends to get caught between the metal and the roof of your mouth. Turning the expander is not bad (I have to turn mine twice a day) at worst you just feel a little bit of pressure. The gap I haven't noticed yet (probably too soon) but from what my ortho said it is a good thing as it is a sign that the device is working. The gap will be closed very soon after expanding is done, and I don't think it takes long to close. As far as the weight I lost a pound or two probably because I didn't eat much the first few days due to frustrations with the expander. I am now eating pretty much everything I want with little problem. Oh, by the way to help the sore tongue out salt water rinses are great and so is Colgate Peroxyl Rinse. Hope that answers most of your questions. Let me know if you have any others! Good luck and go for it! The first few days are a little rough but after that things will get much better!

thanks ya'll! you were really helpfull!

thanks ya'll! you were really helpfull!