Metal Mouth Message Board

So I started my orthodontic journey when I was 19, and I am now 20. When my journey began, my upper palate was 10mm too narrow, and my teeth were extremely crowded. My orthodontist suggested that SARPE may be necessary, but he wanted to try just the expander before going the surgical route. He said that I had "maxed out" my first expander and I had to get a second one! I honestly do not believe that I had a true expansion; I never formed a gap in my front teeth, and all of my molars were tipping like crazy. I have seen much debate about the stability of non-surgical expansion in adults. My question is, Is there a possibility of my palate and teeth going back to the way they were before even if I wear my retainer 24/7 (except eating, brushing etc.) for the rest of my life? I'm planning on getting the clear retainers, so I think it would be doable for me. Any incite or advice on this would be much appreciated!

I won't say anything other than: The stability of appliance-only palatal expansion in adults is a controversial topic. Some studies report success nearly as great as SARPE, others studies report failure.

I wish there were more, or better, information on the topic... Personally (not that my non-ortho opinion matters much), I think SARPE has a much higher likelihood of success than a non-surgical approach for cases requiring a larger amount of expansion.