Hey, Alyssa and welcome on board!
I'm sorry to hear you have the same problem to deal with than I did, but I'm glad you've taken the iniative to do something about it
now. I kept postponing until I was 34 and by that my teeth had suffered some irreversable damage due to my bad bite. You're on the right track, congratulations!
Eating with the expander on is annoying at first, I know, but you'll get used to it. I had soup, smoothies, yoghurt and soft food for the first two months (and lost 5 kg), but towards the end of my RPE treatment I ate about anything I could cut into small pieces and chew with my back teeth only. You'll learn your own tricks, just be patient.
Did your ortho mention that the RPE may give you a sore tongue? Mine didn't, she actually sugar coated the whole thing to me. Anyway, be prepared for that during the first week. If that happens, don't panic, your tongue will get used to the appliance in a couple of weeks and the pain will subside.
I also have impacted canines and i'm annoyed, just as you were, at the lack of answers my orthodontist is giving me to my inquiries about what is going to become of them. he just keeps saying i'll have to wait until the expander is off to see what happens.
Waiting sucks, doesn't it
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)
But you just might be so lucky that the expansion will give you enough space on the arch for the canines to be pulled down in place, which is the ideal case. My ortho tried that, but no luck, my arch simply is too small. You're a lot younger than me, so you probably have better odds also as to how easily those canines are willing to come down.
If you end up having the canines extracted after all, the expansion will give those crowded roots some space around them and make it easier to get the canines out when the time comes. That was my story. As you probably read in my journal my laterals' roots were almost wrapped around my canines, but the expansion helped the situation and they could be cut out safely without damaging the roots of the adjacent teeth.
I'd love to hear how things will turn out for you. Keep us updated, will you?
If there is anything you want to ask, please do! I know how little information there is to be found about this condition, so I'll be more than happy to help, if I can.
On this board there are Loop, Manda, Eleni, Evelyn and Pamela (nickname "fyrelight") who also have had impacted canines treated. You might like to look up their stories, too. Some of them have had their canines pulled down on the arch with braces, some have had theirs extracted.
Good luck, and keep posting!