Metal Mouth Message Board

My dentist has recommended a hyrax expander for my daughter who just turned 6 years old to correct her cross bite. She still sucks her thumb to soothe herself and is sensitive to pain. I am concerned that this will be traumatic or at the very least, distressing. Is 6 years old considered young for this device? Any experience or wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

I can't say anything about the age for the appliance, but it does seem like the thumb sucking could be a problem, both for the appliance and for the future. Thumb sucking can create lots of problems like open bites, so you might want to consider trying to get her to stop. My parents got me to stop sucking my thumb by offering my frilly underpants if I didn't suck my thumb for a whole week, hahaha. Come to think of it, that's how they potty trained me too!

I am not an expert, nor do I have children, but I have read that ages 6 or 7 is a good time for a preliminary consult with an orthodontist, especially if problems are apparent. Orthodontist can treat with 2 phase treatment. Treatment early to guide jaw growth and then full braces later after all or most of the permanent teeth have erupted. I know of some children who only needed phase one treatment and after their jaw growth was directed, all their adult teeth came in beautifully. If you are concerned at all, perhaps you should take your daughter to see one or two orthodontists.

My niece is a thumb sucker too, and unfortunately I see an open bite starting because of this. (She's 6). It will be hard, but see if you can get your daughter to stop. Thumb vs teeth = thumb wins. Thumb sucking will hamper (or maybe negate) any orthodontic treatment she undertakes.

i don't know anything about hyrax (is it permanent or a removable, most of the top rate orthos say removable never really "sticks") but I had an expander when i was 8 yrs old and it wasn't a big deal, though I know a lot of maturing happens 6-8.
my parents were super supportive which was important (i got to eat my favorite mashed potatoes when it ached at the beginning). The most I felt after the first week was pressure when tightened/expanded.

** if you do go this route ask lots of questions about post-treatment retaining!! I wouldn't be where I am today (2nd expander at 27 yrs) had I been told to continue to wear my retainers years after **

From what I have read expanders are quite often used for this type of early treatment in children.

I took my son, who just turned 7, in to see my Orthodontist. He is also a compulsive thumb sucker (has since he was born). He currently has a crib appliance that his dentist put in but it isn't working. My Ortho said that it is too small. His bite is off and his teeth have come in crooked because of the thumb so they left in the crib and he is scheduled to go in and get a treatment plan in the next few months.

With this whole process we never talk about his thumb sucking, we only talk about his teeth being straight and pretty. We were advised to do this since there is pain involved in Ortho treatment and you don't want your child thinking that the pain is punishment for sucking their thumb.

Oh! Also, while it will be in there for a different reason, the appliance will probably take care of the thumb sucking. It should prevent her from being able to create suction between her thumb and the roof of her mouth.

I remember how my parents got me to stop sucking my thumb. After I ate a red sucker, i sucked my thumb, and it turned my thumb all red. I asked my dad why my thumb was all red, and he started panicking and said i sucked all the blood to thumb and now it might fall off if I dont stop. I never did it ever again.

Thank you so much for all your responses. It's very helpful to hear your experiences as I consider the options!

One of the side effects of thumbsucking is a narrowing of the palate -- along with flared upper teeth and retruded lower teeth.

A hyrax is a fixed expansion appliance used for correcting the post crossbite. It can also make thumbsucking less 'gratifying' since the kid cant get their thumb in there as well.

I actually had a hand in designing an appliance that can correct the posterior crossbite the flared upper teeth and help control the thumbsucking all at once (instead of having to use multiple appliances)

It is called the Inman- DePaul Habit Appliance.

I have an 8 year old daughter and she had an upper expander right before her 8th birthday for about 8-10 weeks. It was amazing how quickly it worked. She was a little uncomfortable at times and had a bit of a speech issue, but did well. I cranked the thing every night for her. It sort of became our fun litttle thing to do every night. Food did get caught under it, but a waterpik takes care of that.

On the age, for girls in particular, early intervention is criticial. 6-7 years old is fine.

My daughter is 6 and I took her to the ortho for a consult already because her regular dentist took a pan-x and found out one of her front permanent incisors is rotated practically sideways. She's not missing any teeth but she has a crossbite already, so he's waiting for her 6 yr molars on top to both grow in and then she might need an expander. I think it's important to take care of whatever we can early because I don't want her to experience having to deal with problems with her teeth if I can help it.