Adult palate expander

[Sorls]

Hey guys, was wondering if any adults on here have had their palate expanded? I am getting a removable one shortly to wear for a year, in articles i've read there seems to be 2 differing opinions, some saying you cant expand an adults upper jaw and others saying you can...was wondering if any of you have had upper jaw expanded successfully in adulthood...dont want this treatment to be a waste of money!

[denSMSgt]

I had one at roughly age 28/29 after having one as a teen. Let's just say it accomplished tipping mostly as an adult, because once it hit the point of expanding palate, I was in SEVERE PAIN that OTC painkillers didn't even touch. I'm guessing it was starting to do its job on my adult fused palate, breaking I assume. Had to go in where the ortho backed it off a couple turns and wired it off.

The tipping of teeth outward was good, but YIKES past that.

Now here I am again (no expander this time) after a failed supposedly permanent lower retainer.

Smile BIG!

d

[ArchWired28]

I had one at roughly age 28/29 after having one as a teen. Let's just say it accomplished tipping mostly as an adult, because once it hit the point of expanding palate, I was in SEVERE PAIN that OTC painkillers didn't even touch. I'm guessing it was starting to do its job on my adult fused palate, breaking I assume. Had to go in where the ortho backed it off a couple turns and wired it off.

While I do understand and agree that you were in pain, I don't believe the expander could break your or anybody else's fused palate. The pain you were having most likely originated from the nerves being compressed by the teeth, forced to move beyond the capacity of your bone. But I also do agree that in adults, expander would mostly move the teeth towards the outer ridge of the bone and tip them outwards - essentially the same thing braces would accomplish. Some orthos just like using an expander, maybe due to the speed or convenience or some other reasons.

[Sorls]

Thanks guys. The reason im getting this is to correct a slight underbite, and dont really mind if it just tips my upper teeth forward a bit as long as i dont end up with buck teeth at the top!

[staje]

I have an expander in now (two weeks today). I also read extensively online and found conflicting articles. I asked my Ortho and he says there is debate in the field about wether the expander is really expanding the palate or if it is causing bone growth that widens the dental arch. He personally thinks it is a bit of both and regardless it should create more space for my teeth :)

[Sorls]

Thats good to hear :) just as long as it works! Do u have a removable expander or the permanent one?

[sjs8906]

I wore a non-removable expander last year (age 22) for about...7 months (I think)? Most say that an adult palate is already fused and cannot be expanded, the molars will only be tipped outward. The main reason I wore one was because my molars were tipped inward...so it served its purpose for me. It was hell to wear, but then, nothing in orthodontics is very fun.

[ibeezee]

i havent had any experience with adult palate expanders myself, but most of the research i have done and orthos i have spoke with say they do not make much difference in adults. though, i have met with dr. belfor (the creator of homeoblock) who says his appliance is designed to move the palate of adults

[staje]

I've now had my expander in for five weeks and I thought I'd mention that when I turn the expander I do get the same sensations that are described for teenagers. I get feeling that is somewhere between discomfort and pain that goes directly up the midline of the maxilla to my nose. This sensation lasts between a few hours to a day. There is no discomfort at all in my teeth. Subjective, but maybe worth noting.

[midnight]

I've got a quad helix with the purpose being to expand my palate. I've had it in for 2 months now and I can really see a difference in the photos i've taken. I'm 25 so they obviously can work

[sirwired]

Midnight,

The debate isn't whether or not a palatal expander can be fitted in an adult's mouth and cranked outwards. It clearly can. The debate is on how much permanent expansion can be achieved after all appliances are removed.

[midnight]

Midnight,

The debate isn't whether or not a palatal expander can be fitted in an adult's mouth and cranked outwards. It clearly can. The debate is on how much permanent expansion can be achieved after all appliances are removed.

Ok, i misread then. Whatever. I'll let you know in 10 years

[pellepee]

Midnight,

The debate isn't whether or not a palatal expander can be fitted in an adult's mouth and cranked outwards. It clearly can. The debate is on how much permanent expansion can be achieved after all appliances are removed.

Sirwired, may I ask what you mean? Would you have any links I could read if you do have any? A fixed palatal expander is in my future without surgery... long story short I am not a candidate for surgery. I won't go into details as I don't 100% understand it myself... well, enough to relay the information to another person; I do understand.
Do you mean the arch can relapse or something?

Cheers.

[sirwired]

Adults can be fitted with palatal expanders. Useful, stable, results can be achieved with them without surgery. Where they differ is in how much expansion can be achieved, the nature of the expansion, and the length of retention.

In children, fitting with an expander produces long-term, obvious, stable, skeletal changes. Non-surgical adults fitted with an expander generally experience movement of the teeth within the skeletal structure; the palate itself doesn't expand very much. This can include tipping or shifting within the bone. If your gums can take it and/or if you need some tipping, this is perfectly acceptable. The total amount of expansion possible is obviously lower in adults without surgery.

It's hard to find research studies comparing surgical with non-surgical adult expansion cases because orthodontists will not even try (even for the purpose of a research study) to achieve large amounts of expansion, or certain types of expansion, without surgery. Conversely, they won't do surgery when only a small amount of correction is needed.

The one study I found discussing the usefulness of non-surgical adult palatal expansion (that wasn't trying to sell something) explicitly stated that they did not even try non-surgical expansion in patients with complex cases or with perio issues. But that same study did state that when used (we assume by a competent orthodontist and appropriate cases) it provides acceptable results.

http://www.angle.org/doi/pdf/10.1043/00 ... 2.0.CO%3B2

[pellepee]

Wow, great post thank you so much! I will read through that pdf over the next couple of days.
I am confident with my treatment plan but I am just obsessed with this stuff now that I can't stop researching! This forum is absolutely a great resouce but my gosh it is addictive! Don't know how I will survive until May.

I will post about how my expander goes in my case when I know, as I know palatal expansion is one of the big topics that make people question their ortho's. Stability, surgical recovery...two HUGE things in the braces world.

Thanks again sirwired!!