Pic of narrow archs before?

Message

#1 Post by **rkorn** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:46 am

Does anyone who has had to have SARPE surgery have pics of their narrow archs before?
If you had to have the surgery was this your only option?
Can you also have expanders if you are an adult?

#2 Post by **CelestialVoices** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:21 am

I am going to be having an expander put in to widen my upper jaw/arch on October 26th, what kind I don't know...or even how long it'll be in, but I'm 21 and there was no mention of surgery, so my answer to your question about expanders is yes. Hope I helped a little bit!

#3 Post by **mic26** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 1:05 pm

Rkorn,

I had SARPE surgery in August. I have pictures of before, but I don't know how to post them. I was told by an oral surgeon and an orthodontist that palatal expansion in an adult without surgery is difficult because the palatal bones have fused together. Surgery was my only option...in order to fix my crowded teeth and crossbite etc, I had to have the surgery. I researched alot before I decided to do this. I even had several ortho consulations, one of which didn't even mention surgery. The ortho I finally chose explained my options and what could and most likely would happen if I didn't have the surgery along with the expander. I don't know though, I've heard of adults getting expanders and not having any problems. Surgery seemed like the right choice for me...i've expanded 10mm in total.
Hope this helps!

#4 Post by **joplin** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 11:38 pm

Rkorn, there is a picture of the molds of my uppers pre and post SARPE here: viewtopic.php?t=444&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45. It's not as dramatic a change as many others may have had, but you get the basic idea.

SARPE was not the only option for me, but it was the best bet, all things considered - long story: you'll find the details in Joplin's Story: viewtopic.php?t=444&start=45&postdays=0 ... highlight=
It literally is long, so consider yourself warned

I had my SARPE on 6th October 2004. Now when a year has passed I'm very pleased with the results.

Expanders & SARPE work on adults to widen the whole upper jaw. Expanders alone only work on moving teeth and shaping the arch that way.