Who's the Key Turners of Your Pallet Expander???

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#1 Post by **Graceful58** » Thu May 10, 2007 2:39 pm

Who is the key turner to your pallet expander??? Wondering if anyone is talented enough to turn it their selves. I've tried but it's very hard to see that tiny incy hole. My 15 year old son turns mine...I would do it myself if I could see it.

How often does your ortho have you turning your expander...for those who didn't have the SARPE surgery? Mine is once a week...

#2 Post by **lemonlyme** » Thu May 10, 2007 3:15 pm

I did it myself every time, It took a minute but no big deal. And after a while it was super easy. I think i turned it for..2 months? I had a pretty big gap in my front teeth.

#3 Post by **4beauty4symmetry** » Thu May 10, 2007 3:29 pm

I had to turn mine twice a day for 10 days. First several times it took forever.

This is how I got the hang of it: I bought a little cosmetic mirror, one with its own legs. I also bought one of those little hand dental mirrors the dentists use. I used these mirrors to see where the hole was and guided the key to the opening in the RPE.

It sounds like your maxillary must not be very narrow if you don't need a SARPE and only need to expand once a week. Very nice.

#4 Post by **mmym29** » Thu May 10, 2007 5:57 pm

I have a TPA, is that the same thing as an expander?? I don't have to turn mine, it just sits up there (letting lots of lovely food get stuck) I felt alot of pressure the first few days after I first got it, now not so much unless I push against it with my tongue, then I feel pressure on the molars.

#5 Post by **danielle80** » Thu May 10, 2007 8:52 pm

My ortho actually turned my key for me. Which I'm glad, cause there is no way I could have done it myself. I went every 2 weeks since January, and each time he turned it about 5 times. I'm now done expanding!! Can't wait to get it out!

#6 Post by **Amburly** » Fri May 11, 2007 5:32 am

I turned mine every 3 days for a total of about 28 turns. I stopped turning about 10 weeks ago and now at the end of this month I will have my RPE taken out

But at the same adjustment I will have a TPA installed to keep my arch from collapsing.

#7 Post by **gunter8888** » Fri May 11, 2007 7:07 am

My expander was removable so I took it out to turn it. After reading the challenges some of you have I feel like I cheated.

It sounds like your maxillary must not be very narrow if you don't need a SARPE and only need to expand once a week. Very nice.

In an adult, non-surgical expansion you have to go much slower. I only turned mine once every 3 days for 4 months.

I may be mistaken, but I thought the TPA was almost always just about maintaining the width/the position of particular teeth, rather than about expansion.

You're mostly right. A small amount of expansion can be achieved with a TPA, but in most cases they are used to maintain the width.

#8 Post by **Graceful58** » Fri May 11, 2007 7:44 am

WOW...all of you who turned it yourselves, I am quite impressed. My pallet is pretty narrow so there's a bit of expansion to do. Take a look at my blog and you'll see how narrow.

I go back in six weeks to see my ortho maybe at that time he'll have me turning it more often.

#9 Post by **awillis42606** » Sat May 12, 2007 7:18 am

I turn mine every 3 days by myself. The first three times I had to have my husband help me, and it took us a couple of minutes, but now I can go into the bathroom, get my key, small mirror and turn it... It takes me about 10 seconds to turn it now... I've actually grown quite fond of my expander lol... It has widened my arch a little already, which i love, and I have yet to get a gap btwn my front teeth. My front teeth were over crowded to the point where one tooth was about half way behind the other tooth. My ortho said that I may not get a gap, or that it would be very small if I did. Either way, one is no long behind the other!!! I will have my expander for 4-6 months, not sure how long I have to turn it for though, but I do it myself.

#10 Post by **atxjen** » Sat May 12, 2007 10:24 am

When I had mine, I turned it myself and had to turn it twice a day. I did not have the SARPE surgery.

#11 Post by **sneakers321** » Sat May 12, 2007 10:25 am

I turn mine myself each Wednesday and Sunday. It comes with a wrench that I put on the bar across the middle, and pull it from top to bottom twice. It looks like I'm pumping water at a well, actually. Check out my braces story to see the expander, and you'll get what I mean. I'm supposed to wear this for about 3 months, and from what I've read so far, I got off lucky on the sentence!! It seems most are 6-12 months. For this, I am thankful.

All the best!!

#12 Post by **Graceful58** » Sat May 12, 2007 11:38 am

I am having the hardest time getting this darn key into the hole. I have had my son try, my husband try and I just spent over an hour with a small mirror in my mouth trying to get this key into the hole. I have a very narrow pallet right now and I'm just not seeing the hole that I have to put the key/wrench in...I now will have to drive 40 minutes to my ortho to have them do it on Monday.

On my blog you can see the expander and there's two arrows that point to the back...I see a hole but nothing happens when I put the key in and try to bring it forward...I think I've bent my key now and so I'll need a new one. Very frustrating!!!

#13 Post by **happysmile** » Sat May 12, 2007 8:02 pm

I always have my husband turn the key for me. I have to turn it once every day for two months and wear it an additional 3 months for stabilization. Like awillis42606 said, I have gotten attached to my expander, since you can really see the progress of the expansion. I'm very excited to see the final results!

Sat May 12, 2007 10:37 pm

Graceful,

I'm a bit perplexed. If your palate is so narrow, how can it be expanded sufficiently WITHOUT surgery? My understanding is that the bony area of the palate has hardened by one's 20s, so that an RPE appliance without surgery is pushing teeth to the side.

Also, I wonder if it's possible that you've expanded without realizing it. I wound up overexpanding because I wasn't sure if I had succeeded in turning the key or not, and so would do it more than the 2 x/day for 10 days I was supposed to.

#15 Post by **Graceful58** » Sun May 13, 2007 8:08 am

4Beauty...

I don't have the answers to your questions, but I trust my orthodontist and prior I asked him about the teeth tipping and that's not his goal, his goal is to widen my pallet...it's been done successfully on adults without surgery and that's what we're trying to avoid. I say my pallet is narrow because I look at it and it is...LOL! Narrower than I'd like to be honest.

It's not possible that I've expanded without realizing it because when I've gotten the key into what I thought was the hole and tried to pull it forwards it doesn't move, so I will need to go into the ortho and have them do it. I was even thinking of going to my close friend the dentist here in town and seeing if he might be able to do it for me.

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Who's the Key Turners of Your Pallet Expander???

Who's the Key Turners of Your Pallet Expander???

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