Metal Mouth Message Board

KK wrote:All the best for tomorrow Zameera!

It's good you're going to take great care of your oral hygiene. Remember flossing is as important as brushing. Plus be careful not to over brush and brush your gums very gently!

Here's to your p-day going real well!

crazybeautiful wrote:Good luck. It should just slot right on perfectly and not hurt at all, so nothing to worry about. My first one didn't fit though, and let me tell ya- that did hurt because my ortho thought she'd try and wedge it in anyway. I had tears in my eyes that day .

And I'm saying this because you will probably see this when you get back from having it placed, so I can't freak you out

mottsrods wrote:Good Luck Zameera........Hope it all goes well............

KK wrote:Zameera, hopefully the lisping won't last long!

I've not had an expander, but here's a passage I've read is great for people with appliances and speech issues.

The Rainbow Passage ... This is a great tool used by many speech pathologists. It contains most of the sounds and phonetic combinations in the English language. Repeat this several times a day out loud. It’s great practice for getting your tongue used to talking around foreign appliances.

The Rainbow Passage

When the sunlight strikes raindrops in the air, they act like a prism and form a rainbow. The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colours. These take the shape of a long round arch, with its path high above, and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon. There is, according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end. People look, but no one ever finds it. When a man looks for something beyond his reach, his friends say he is looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Plus take great care of your mouth. Warm salt water rinses are both soothing and healing! Keep smiling!

LilyU wrote:Zameera....my son got his expander on Monday and is having trouble swallowing and eating too. Took him 2 days to learn how to drink without dribbling!!

Good luck....I hope it goes well for you!

Lily

KK wrote:Zameera sorry you have a sore mouth!

First, make sure whatever is causing the rubbing, is coverd with wax. Otherwise you won't be able to heal in that area.

Next ... rinsing with warm salt water several times a day helps most people, but it's not instant, as this is a healing pocess, so you need to be patient and make sure the area is kept free of irritation. My ortho recommends doing these rinses from before you start treatment, till your treatment is over.

Also ... baking soda and hydrogen peroxide should help.

Baking Soda and Water: Swish with baking soda and water several times a day can aid in healing mouth sores.
Baking Soda/Hydrogen Peroxide: 1/8 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp hydrogen peroxide in 4 oz water. For mouth sores.
http://www.acor.org/ped-onc/treatment/mouthcare.html

A numbing and antiseptic gel/cream like bonjela should help. Plus check what you're rinsing your mouth with. If you have mouth sores, it's best to not use a mouth rinse with alchol. Colgate peroxyl is good if your mouth is sore.

Your vitamin and mineral intake is also important. This helps your body not to stress and also aids healing.

Keep working at it and hopefully they will heal very soon!

AliKat wrote:Ive just been to my ortho and been told Im getting an expander - so wasn't expecting this!! He's not putting it on till after Christmas which i suppose is a good thing!! Im getting it done the same time as my 6 week check up so he'll change my wire and ligs then put the expander in, ill be having a few painfull days i think

How long are they usually in for, does anyone know?? He said about 4 months, really hope there is a difference to my smile, the reason im getting all this done is for my wedding in August so I hope this will all be worth it!!

AliKat wrote:Do all expanders require you to "turn a key"???:shock:

I dont really know much about them as my ortho hasn't went in to much detail about them, he just said for me to get a wider smile!