Metal Mouth Message Board

I have been in braces for 14 months, and am scheduled for 30 months. At my last adjustment, my ortho said that my teeth are in place, and at the next adjustment he would start to work on my crossbite. Does that mean I have an expander in my future? And, exactly what kinds of expanders are there?

Gardnr

I'm sure everyone's case is different, but I also have a crossbite on one side. Mine will be corrected using rubber bands. I will have them attached to the inside of my top molars and to the outside of my bottom molars. Sounds like a fun time. Let me know how yours goes. I'm only about 3 months into my treatment and I don't expect the elastics until much further along.

Erin

Hi Gardnr,

I'm guessing it may mean you will be getting an expander. Did your orthodontist mention an expander during your consultation?

My teeth are pretty well aligned, I think just some minor corrections to be made for alignment so my orthodontist placed the expander in to correct my crossbite and will do the full expansion before I get my braces (about 6 months of the expander plus a few more months after the braces are placed - to stabilize the expansion). I have a Quad-Helix expander - I have adjusted to it, the first couple weeks the expander was rubbing on my tongue and I had a very sore tongue ansd some problems with speech but with the help of wax and the warm salt water rinses it relieved the discomfort. Every now and then I have some discomfort - just continue to rinse with warm salt water while you are in orthodontic treatment and always carry some wax with you.

Hope this information helps. Good luck and keep us posted.

ssfw

Erin, Could you tell me a bit what the rubberbands are like--how you described them on your molars? Are they hard to put on and take off? Do they snap in your mouth? I'm getting this done for my back molars.

I also have an E-Arch expander to help correct my crossbite. I love it now that the spring has been removed. It has done a great job in 4 months with my front teeth.

i have a crossbite on one side that my ortho said may only be correctable with surgery. but if anything i'll just have rubber bands, too.

You can get some expansion by a palatal expander. I know you mention you would prefer the rubberbands. I think the E-Arch expander is less bulky than some of the other expanders. I got mine the day of my braces. This way as my palate expands and gaps form, my braces work. My expander doesn't hurt. I don't turn a key or anything but it is perhaps slower. But with the braces pulling and the expander pushing, I have seen tremendous progress in 4 mo.

Hey Bracesmom, I don't actually have the elastics yet. I'm figuring that will be much later in my treatment. It was just something we discussed in the consultation. I will definitely be posting with pictures as I go along. We'll all get there together I suppose!

Erin

I have a crossbite and we will use only ruber bands. I guess it does depend largly on the type of crossbite. If you are not told about expander I would not worry about it.
Part of my crossbite is already corrected by just braces. If you are worry just ask your doc

If you have small hooks on some of your brackets, then you should be getting elastics. But just ask your ortho, that's what he's there for. Don't let him get away with just mentioning something and not explaining it. You should be hearing it from him instead of trying to figure it out here.

Depending on the degree of your crossbite it can be treated with elastics or expansion. If it is a minor difference in space then the teeth will be tilted by use of elastics to correct the discrepancy. If there is not enough space to tilt, then expansion is necessary. If it has not been discussed with you then elastics will probably do the trick.

Good Luck,
Rory