Anyone had SUCCESS with Palatal Expander/Pendulum??

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#1 Post by **sandykae** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 7:44 pm

Hi! I have a palatal expander that has been in for almost two months! I HATE this thing! Besides how miserable it's making me, I am wondering if it will really help. I have heard MANY say that once your mouth is fully grown (I'm 41) that it won't do much good. Does anyone know if this is true? I wonder what the percentages are for this thing to work?? I would have much rather had teeth pulled than to deal with this! My ortho says it will need to be in for 6-9 months. Any one FINISHED the time in theirs and seen an improvement? If so, please tell me. Thanks!

Sandy

#2 Post by **science teacher** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:08 pm

I asked about doing the expander only and my ortho said no. I have a consult Wed with an OS to discuss SARPE. I need a 6mm expansion and am nearly 35.

I will still have to have the RPE in for about 3 or 4 months even with the surgery.

KIM

#3 Post by **sandykae** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:14 pm

Hi Kim! Please forgive me but I am new to all of the braces abbreviations. What is SARPE and RPE?

Sandy

#4 Post by **science teacher** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:18 pm

a SARPE is surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion it is also referred to as a SAME surgically assisted maxillary expansion. This is a procedure to widen the top jaw horizontally

a RPE is a rapid palatal expander. this is a device that sits in the roof of your mouth. If your bones have not fused (14 and under for females) this is used instead of surgery. If your bones are fused the surgery is done first then this device is used to widen the jaw and for stability during the healing process.

KIM

#5 Post by **sandykae** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:22 pm

Thanks for explaining, Kim. Well I have an RPE that covers the roof of my mouth. I HATE it. BUT I had no surgery. I wonder if this is going to work at my age?? (41)

Sandy

#6 Post by **gunter8888** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 1:21 pm

The pro-surgery folks tend to be very adamant that it is the best, if not the only, way to go. However, there are also quite a few folks on here that have had successful, non-surgical expansion.

I am 34 years old and 2+/- months into my non-surgical expansion with great results so far. At my last ortho visit I specifically asked my ortho if we were truly expanding or just tipping the teeth and he was very certain that we are, in fact, achieving expansion.

I will agree, though, that no matter the technique expansion isn't an enjoyable experience.

The bottom line is that there are plenty of opnions on what works and some data that backs up both. As for me, I trust my ortho, his training and his experience. Hopefully you do too.

#7 Post by **ShinySmile** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 1:54 pm

I had an RPE for 3 months, and I've seen a big improvement without surgery. I'm only 21, and my ortho was hesitant to try it...but I didn't actually need a lot of expansion-- I brought up using the expander to get a wider smile.

He took xrays along the way to make sure my teeth weren't tipping, and all of that good stuff...

Good luck

#8 Post by **sandykae** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:52 pm

Thanks so much Gunter and Shiny Smile.

I do trust my ortho which is why I picked her. Thanks for reminding me of that Gunther. I needed reminding! I guess it's because this stupid thing is making me miserable! Are you talking as if it's not in your mouth or is that impossible to achieve?You've had yours only 2-3 weeks longer than I have. If you aren't talking correctly, how do you handle it when people don' t understand you or ask you to repeat yourself? Any tips? Thanks ahead of time!

Sandy

#9 Post by **gunter8888** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:08 am

My speech has improved a great deal since I first got my expander. "th" and "cks" sounds still get me from time to time, but overall I think I am doing very well. I have to talk a lot at work and I just told myself that I would have to figure it out and the sooner the better. I found that I do better if I slow down a little and focus on enunciating each word.

The other tip that helped me was singing in the car. Yes, it sounds silly, but it helps! ...and who doesn't like to sing in the car? It forces you to really concentrate on moving your tongue and lips so the sounds come out clearly.

Good luck!

#10 Post by **candygrrrl** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 7:10 am

Hi there:

I am a 42 year old female who underwent non-surgical palatal expansion starting in March of this year. I wore an RPE for six months. Talking was very difficult for about a month. Eating, I never got the hang of. Was miserable the entire time on that front and spent most of my free time cleaning my teeth!

Adult palatal expansion without surgery is a controversial subject. All three of my consults believed I was a candidate for expansion without surgery with the caveat that if we didn't achieve 3mm within the first month and if I was experiencing any trouble â€“ pain, tooth loosening, bone deterioration, etc. â€“ we would stop and move into surgery. Luckily, things went fine and I achieved a total of 8mm expansion. I am now in elastics and wear a mouth bow when not out in public. Fun, fun!

I guess overall I'm happy with my results and vey happy that I was able to circumvent sugery. I have a much wider smile, which I like. But I also have experienced some facial changes that I'm not quite sure how I feel about â€“ much higher cheekbones and an accompanying hollowing at my temples. My orthodontist NEVER told me about this possibility, but when I asked her about it two months into the expansion (when I first started noticing changes), she did acknowledge that orthodontics and palatal expansion not only move teeth, but in many cases, the bone as well. Then she shrugged it off and said, "But people pay a lot of money for cheekbones like that." Which still pisses me off to this day. I did not expect these changes, nor am I sure I want them. I'll just have to see what the final outcome is when all these contraptions are finally out of my mouth and my face "settles" into a shape.

But I would definitely ask your ortho about facial changes. Many docs don't acknowlege the possibility at all, saying it's all in our heads or we must be losing weight (I weigh the same now as before braces), or we experienced "rapid aging."

Best of luck to you in your treatment!

#11 Post by **jenfire** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 4:39 pm

I have an RPE (since March). It seems to have worked for me without the surgery. I am 25 yrs. old. I don't think I needed a lot of expansion though. I turned it once every 3 days for about a month and now the device is just sitting up there to hold everything in place until I get a stiffer archwire. I didn't get the gap between the front teeth, etc. but according to the ortho, assistants and my hygenist, it has done a nice job.

#12 Post by **samantha_lou** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:08 pm

I'm 26 and having great results with RPE and no SARPE. It's been in for some time already, and we're down to turning it once a week at the moment. My ortho is happy with the results, and so am I! No pain or suffering, just a couple days adjustment when it was first cemented in.

#13 Post by **sandykae** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 3:20 pm

Wow Candygirl! It made all of those changes in your face?! That's amazing! I say that because about a week after I got this expander I started having severe headaches in my left temple. I attributed it to sinus problems which I have EVERY September. Then everything got worse. I have this bad pain like a bad crick in my neck on the left side. I did nothing that I know of to cause it. I have blurry vision in my left eye. I can no longer drive because as I turn my head to the right nothing is in focus enough to tell which lane the car is in. Before this time I had perfect vision. I also hear a pulse in my left ear constantly and have lots of ear pain. I have already been checked for an ear infection. I don't have one. Then a few days ago, I was walking and my left leg went numb. I couldn't even feel it, and almost fell over! I am 135 pounds and healthy. I eat right and exercise. I have no reason for this. I have had a CT scan and an MRI. My doctor was concerned with the numbness in my leg the most. Reading about the changes to your face, this is a stretch, but should I ask my ortho if this expander is causing my problems? I can't even drive any longer, and keep a bad headache.

Something is messing with my health and my doctor has no idea what. Looking back, this all started about 2 weeks after my expander was put in. Could this be the cause? What do you think?

Sandy

#14 Post by **kisses14** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:08 pm

I just got a Palatal Expander placed on Monday, October 16th. I have to turn it every other day for 2.5 weeks. So far, I've turned it twice, and I have not felt any pain (knock on wood) yet, only pressure in the cheeks and nose. It's a weird feeling but hasn't really lasted longer than 5-10 minutes. As far as comfort goes, I absolutely hate this thing right now. But, I've only had it in for 4 days so maybe I'm just not used to it yet. It's just not comfortable and I talk weird when I say a lot of words with the "ee" sound, like Leaves, Sea, Baby....I hope I adjust. I have to wear this thing for 6 mos.

#15 Post by **Cali Girl** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:00 pm

Candygrrl,

I have a similar situation with my cheekbones and my temples. I noticed that my temple are a little hollow and my cheekbones are more pronounced. Did yours ever settle once the swelling went down? I was just wondering. It takes some getting used to and no one told me about that either.

Cali Girl

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Anyone had SUCCESS with Palatal Expander/Pendulum??

Anyone had SUCCESS with Palatal Expander/Pendulum??

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