Unique TPA

[ruca2]

Hello everyone, I was just curious to see if anyone has a TPA device that is similar to mine. My ortho placed my TPA when he put on my upper and lower braces over 6 months ago. He explained the function and I understand the concept behind their use. It took a great deal of getting use to in the beginning as you can tell by the bulkiness from the photo. I have searched extensively to find one that is similar to mine but haven't been able to locate any that matches this pattern. I simply think mine is pretty unique. Feel free to share your experiences or photos with your own TPA device on this thread. Thanks

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[ItsFreyja]

Cool appliance! I don't have one, but you'll find them if you google "niti expander tpa." Seems like a neat little device!

[ruca2]

Thanks ItsFreyja! So, it seems that it definitely is the Ni-Ti expander. I couldn't find that anywhere, lol. It's certainly doing what it's supposed to do. Thanks again.

[jfriend33]

looks beautiful wish I had that instead of my regular one that broke!

[Ridingboots]

Hi Ruca

I also have expander in and have now had in for 6 months. I have Quad Helix but never seen your type before.

How did you go talking and eating with it?

for me I talked ok but s sounds slurred at times and for the first month I had to really think how to pronounce my words. Eat is still a pain but am a lot better when I first got it I ate a lot of soups and mince type of meals and there are still foods I still avoided compared to braces.

[ruca2]

Hi Ridingboots,
I've seen the Quad Helix. Also, somewhat bulky but I'm sure it works well. Yeah, I struggled with speech pretty bad the first couple months honestly. I had to slow my speech and sometimes think about my tongue position. Obviously, "s" and "c" were main culprits for me. Eventually I got used to speaking relatively easily with it. I still notice my speech isn't 100% normal to this day but mostly not too noticeable to others. In the beginning, I was exactly as you were with food. Mashed potatoes, soups, bananas, and yogurt were a staple of my diet just so food wouldn't wrap around it. I still get some food trapped on top but I think I naturally find a way to move the food around so it's in spots that I can actually chew it. I still only eat a banana and yogurt for lunch at work simply because it's easier to keep the gunk out of my braces with these types of foods. I'm currently struggling with the idea of wanting the NiTi expander to be gone and loving it for expanding my palate so beautifully. I know it's probably coming out soon and I'll loose some width that I have gained but I won't miss the speech impediments and food issues, lol. Good luck!

[Ridingboots]

Good Luck Ruca

Mine is meant to be coming out next week (I said that last appointment and did not happen) but hopefully this time it will.... no more looking in mirror trying to find the elusive bit of food tangled in the Expander