Metal Mouth Message Board

Hello! I am 28 years old and said I would never get braces, and here I am . Braces were not a problem having put on. It was the darn palate expander! The first days were awlful! I am used to it now but not sure if my tongue will ever recover from the indentation of the bar-lol.

Anyway, I am so glad to find a board for ADULTS with braces. I go in for my first tightening in a few weeks (I got my braces on Halloween ) and get to pick out new colors for my bands (Yep, I have spent a lot of time thinking what color I'll be wearing for the next 3 months ).

I will be glad when the palate expander comes out and I can talk like myself again--and enjoy food and not have to endure as many canker sores.

bracesmom

I'm hearing more and more people have their palatal expander along with their braces, I'm having mine done in two completely separate stages - mainly because I do have a very small mouth and very small teeth, it'll be easier to deal with braces once there is a little more room for movement. I also have to wait for my insurance to fully kick in (Jan 2008) before I can get the full treatment, but the expander is managable and will ensure I've met my co-pay when its time for the next phase (I'll get a phase one to phase two credit for my treatment and have covered my co-pay entirely)

I'm nervous of how much it is going to hurt, so I'm planning on having it adjusted very slowly over *hopefully* eighteen months to two years before getting braces...but we'll see what my ortho has planned. He knows the situation with the insurance as we work for the same employer, and I know he'll be planning my treatment with that in mind.

I imagine the expander is sore and uncomfortable after its been keyed, but I've already been through one round of ortho as a young teen and had an expander, although it wasn't bonded and I know this one will be. Funnily enough I don't remember any of my ortho being all that painful, just a little uncomfortable after adjustments and tightenings.

Good luck with everything, and I'd love to see some photos of the expander that you have. I've seen one on a model, but never one being worn live!

You know, I should take a picture. It looks similar to the quad-helix but is is like an awkward 3 sided retangle with a spring only on one side. Mine isn't a rapid expanding one. Mine doesn't hurt at all. It's just not comfortable on the tounge and I do feel preasure against my teeth. The ortho. is doing both so as my bite expands, the braces will work with it to straighten my teeth in the process so I don't get gaps. It's been 2 months and I've seen progress.

Overall my teeth weren't too crooked (well, the bottom ones were ) I have a horrid cross bite though! I was getting jaw joint pain, I think because I would chew to one side to allow my teeth to break down food.

I didn't know that they did the expanders separate from the braces.. Thanks for your reply!

Wow, I'd never thought of that - I guess that makes sense..as your palate expands it may cause teeth to shift and create gaps. Thats something I need to talk over with my ortho when I go in for my consultation, although I'm fairly sure he is planning to do the expander first and do that alone. I'll know more on the 4th March though, thats when I'm due to see him for my consult.

I'd really be interested to see how your expander looks, and thanks for giving me some questions for both my general dentist and my ortho. I am going to see my general dentist on the 24th January to make sure that my teeth are in good shape for my pre-ortho. He's pretty good with this kind of stuff, and hes a trained prosthodontist and so he has an eye for the cosmetic stuff aswell as the health of the teeth.

Welcome to ArchWired, bracesmom!

Thank you for sharing your story thus far with the rest of us braced-to-bes! Like you, I'll be getting my upper palatte expander installed simultaneously with my braces. I haven't run into too many others with the same treatment plan, so reading your experiences and reactions have been very helpful in preparing for my own!

It's also nice to see another Oregonian on the boards. Again, welcome!

I'm 28 and I'm thinking seriously about getting braces for the second time. Because of bad luck, not wearing my retainer nearly long enough and a slew of other things my teeth have drifted back to almost where they were before. However, I'm fully prepared to give it a go again if I can do it in ceramic-style.

Regards to the palate expander, I had one when I was younger and I'd probably need one again. What exactly did your ortho tell you that it would do? I also have a crossbite which causes me to chew my food mostly on the right side of my mouth due to the fact that my left side doesn't meet exactly flush when i bite down. Anyway, is the palate expander supposed to correct this problem? I always assumed that surgery was in my future particularly going into braces much older than the first time. Something about your palate bone fusing...

Anyway good luck and thanks for any answers!

arnette wrote:Regards to the palate expander, I had one when I was younger and I'd probably need one again. What exactly did your ortho tell you that it would do? I also have a crossbite which causes me to chew my food mostly on the right side of my mouth due to the fact that my left side doesn't meet exactly flush when i bite down. Anyway, is the palate expander supposed to correct this problem? I always assumed that surgery was in my future particularly going into braces much older than the first time. Something about your palate bone fusing...

You are right that your palate does fuse together as a teen. You do actually get some expantion as an adult with the expander without surgery. I have a cross bite and in 2 1/2 mo am amazed at the 2-3 mm of movement! Mine is a slow expander so there is not cranking. I don't feel the preasure very often (when I do, it's more soreness in the teeth). My crossbite was the reason I went to see an orthodontist. Like you, I chewed more on one side of my mouth which was making my jaw sore and probably my teeth to wear differently. The orthod. put braces on so there wouldn't be gaps from the expander. I suppose the pulling of my braces with the pushing of my expander help my teeth to allign better more quickly.

Just some pre-warning about a palatal expander if it was anything like mine and if you've never had one before, the first day I gagged several times. I was suprised how low my expander was placed in conjunction with the bottom of my teeth. On my palatal expander there is a spring on one side that either pokes (slight sharp end) my tounge. The spring has to be brushed VERY well or it will smell bad as bacteria can build up in it. I had to get used to talking again (took over a week) and learn how to rest my tounge without settleing it at the top of my mouth. I thought I'd NEVER get used to it, but I did. It took almost 2 weeks.

jrbecca, thanks for the welcome!