I just got a quad helix expander about 3 days ago. I have been having an extreme amount of difficulty talking with it. This is creating a huge problem because I wait tables and no one can understand me. I'm also an actor. I agreed to be in a short play at the end of the month. I thought I would adjust to the appliance by then. But now I'm thinking that's impossible. So, my question is, are there any other options for expansion? Are there other types of expanders that have less of an affect on your speech? How about removable expanders? I don't know if anyone can answer this. I appreciate whatever advice you can offer.
Thanks!
comparing expanders
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SDFD TSchott
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- Joined: Sun Aug 20, 2006 11:36 pm
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Here is something one of our members post alot of times, KK's passage!
I've not had an expander, but here's a passage I've read is great for people with appliances and speech issues.
The Rainbow Passage ... This is a great tool used by many speech pathologists. It contains most of the sounds and phonetic combinations in the English language. Repeat this several times a day out loud. It’s great practice for getting your tongue used to talking around foreign appliances.
The Rainbow Passage
When the sunlight strikes raindrops in the air, they act like a prism and form a rainbow. The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colours. These take the shape of a long round arch, with its path high above, and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon. There is, according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end. People look, but no one ever finds it. When a man looks for something beyond his reach, his friends say he is looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
I've not had an expander, but here's a passage I've read is great for people with appliances and speech issues.
The Rainbow Passage ... This is a great tool used by many speech pathologists. It contains most of the sounds and phonetic combinations in the English language. Repeat this several times a day out loud. It’s great practice for getting your tongue used to talking around foreign appliances.
The Rainbow Passage
When the sunlight strikes raindrops in the air, they act like a prism and form a rainbow. The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colours. These take the shape of a long round arch, with its path high above, and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon. There is, according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end. People look, but no one ever finds it. When a man looks for something beyond his reach, his friends say he is looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Adjustment Sept 14th, 2018
Braces back on August 06, 2018
Braces off April 02, 2008
I've had my removable appliance since March 1st of this year and I still cant talk properly but apparently thats not normal for most people! But at least if you had one you could take it out when you are acting. Some people say removable appliances have a worse affect on speech (I've never had a fixed expander though) cause of hows theres all that plastic for your tongue to find its way round.
Hey raysun I have a quad helix too and I think it matters how much expansion you need. I had overlapping centrals but within the first 3 weeks my mouth opened up quite a bit. (I measured the distance between my canines with after dinner mints hehe) I'm 5 weeks into the expander and it has widend and seems to be closer to the roof of my mouth. Keep at it I'm sure it will get better.