Metal Mouth Message Board

So I had a bimax with palate expansion 3 weeks ago and since got a nasty infection on my lower right jaw which has had to be drained and still have a temporary drain stitched in there gross. But I have another concern. I have the industrial strength rubber bands going across my front teeth to pull my midlines in place.

My concern is I swear I can feel the line between my two front teeth at the palate causing what feels like a hairline crack. It twitches and twinges when I walk or talk and I keep tonguing it and feeling a groove. I'm terrified its splitting so I've taken the bands off in a panic! Is this possible or am I going nuts?!

I did ask my surgeon last week when I swallow I feel like I'm going to break my palate and he said that's normal.

So far recovery has turned me into a paranoid mess

Any words of comfort or advice would be great thanks.

I know this sounds scary, but I wouldn't necessarily worry about this unless you think it gets worse. If I recall, I had a similar feeling when I had my SARPE. I'd definitely put your rubber bands back on though! You just can't take those things on and off without your surgeon's consent.

Also, regarding the swallowing...I know I had this. It felt like my palate "clanged" together when I swallowed. This went away after a few weeks and I'm pretty sure this is normal.

Good Luck
Chicago29

I`ve read somewhere that some people felt / heard a pop at some point during the expansion. This happens when there is enough pressure. I'm not sure of the source of this effect but it sometimes happen and is completly normal and you shouldn't feel pain. Normally you should feel a small pressure after activation that goes away after a couple of minutes. If you feel a pressure buildup over many activation i would suggest talking to your orthodontist about it. As for the palate "clanging" i'm quite familiar with this feeling. That's the first thing you notice after the surgery. a somekind of weird feeling when you swallow coming from the palate.

I also heard about the pop thing with adults who expanded, however the one person who expanded without doing SARPE like just pure expander with no surgery is the one who told me one night they heard a loud pop. Since I did my treatment with Surgery involved to unfuse the bone I never had such a sensation.

I wonder if the pop is more with younger patients where the bones haven't hardened/fused together yet. Since I also had my palate moved forward (though this may be true in straight SARPE) that whenever I ate that the left and right halves of my palate weren't connected anymore. It didn't hurt - just strange. After about 2 months it went away.