DS8 got his expander today

[cgcw]

DH took DS8 to the orthodonitist today to get his expander put in to correct his cross bite. They orthodontists office called before they got home with a question and told me DS did great. I was glad to hear that.

When they got home, DS says "look Mom" and opens his mouth. I took a look and I wanted to cry!!

I can't believe the appliance now in my son's mouth. I feel like I didn't do something right and now he was going through all of this (must have been that pacifier). DS told me it doesn't hurt but it looks awful.

It's a good thing DH took him today, because the orthodontist showed him how this metal has to be adjusted every night. There is no way I could ever do that!

Does anyone have any experience with this and do the kids adapt pretty quickly? DS was talking really strange today and having a hard time. He didn't want to eat anything and forced down a glass of juice. Is this typical. Should I plan on something soft for dinner tonight (pasta??). Thanks for any help.

 

[Serena]

It'll be okay. They do get used to it. Although it will be awhile. Plan on soft foods for quite a while. It is so hard to swallow with that thing in at first. His mouth will water at first too.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

My DSD just recently had hers removed. Oh what a happy day that was for her. But really, it wasn't all that bad. She did talk a little funny, but she got used to it and said that it didn't bother her too much. I think it looks worse than it really is. She ended up doing the adjustments herself.

 

[snuggles]

My oldest dd (now almost 21) had one when she was 5. She never knew exactly what was going on and handled it well. It was mom and dad that suffered through it. We had several rounds of braces etc. but she has beautiful teeth now and we are glad we did it. As for the speech, it should get better in a day or two. He has to get used to wearing it.

 

[swanmom]

I fear that this is in my DD's future. I'm curious.....how long do kids usually have to wear these things?

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I do alot of babysitting, and I would say half of the kids I know have to wear the palate expander before they get years of braces. Most kids I knew have it for about six months, and the surprising thing is the kids don't even question it - they accept it as a fact of life, and seem to get used to it within days. I noticed the slurred speech can last for the whole time, though - though it gets less obvious as time goes along. But the benefits of straight attractive teeth are so worth all the work.

 

[The LK 4]

DD 7 got her expander in the first week of January. It was hard for her to talk for a few days, but she is fine now. She also had a hard time eating for the first few days, but that got better in about 3 or 4 days. It isn't too bad turning the key - we have to do it every other day. She is going again this Wednesday for another checkup. Please don't beat yourself up about the pacifier. My DD didn't use one much but she needed the expander to correct other minor orthodontial problems. She is supposed to have the expander in for a total of 6 months, and the last three months she will also have braces added to her upper 4 front teeth.

 

[CRB#33]

My DS has had his expander on for a few months and gets his full set of braces on Friday. His teachers have told me not to even bother bringing him back to school! , becauase he will be miserable!

The expanders he got are nothing from what I heard.

Please rest assured that it probably has nothing to do with a pacifier

 

[Tinkbell]

I had one of those when I was 14. That was a rough age to wear it. I had trouble pronouncing words for a couple of weeks, but I got used to it. I wore it for about 6 months. My mom had the hard part. She would cry when she had to adjust it because she thought she was hurting me. Back then you had to put a key in this hole and turn it. Do they still do that? It really didn't hurt. I could feel a tingle in my nose when the key was turned. It was all worth it. My orthodondist said that the roof of mouth was too small due to improper swallowing. I used to thrust my tongue forward instead of pressing it to the roof of my mouth.

 

[shelle94]

I had one of those things too when I was younger. It was annoying, but it was no big deal. Mine also had that little key to adjust it every night. The worst part about the whole experience was the mold they had to make of my teeth. That clay stuff gagged me. Yuck! The only thing I was afraid to eat was lettuce. I was worried it would get stuck up there and I wouldn't be able to get it out. Don't worry....your son will be fine and I'm sure will have no problem adjusting to it. Actually, I didn't realize those things were so common.

Michelle

 

[Mskanga]

Boy I consider myself lucky! My DD had a palate expander just about 2 years ago ( she's almost 10 now ) and hers was clear plastic and I did not have to adjust anything, the orthodontist would see her every so often ( usually once every 2-3 weeks ) and adjust the springs on it. She wore the expander for a few months also for a crossbite and her teeth are beautiful now, hopefully she won't need braces.

 

[jenny2]

I also had one of these when I was 14 or 15. It sounded like the one Tinkbell had to wear. Like everyone has said, it's really no big deal... it's just hard to talk for a while. After turning the key 2X day for 2 weeks I had a space between my 2 front teeth wide enough for me to put a pen through.

Now after they put my braces on and put the elastic around my 2 front teeth to pull them back together... now that was painful!

 

[Michelle]

My daughter had a palate expander at age 8 (she's 9 now, in a retainer, and braces come later). It LOOKS like an instrument of torture, I know, but she LOVED it when I had to "turn the key" each night. She thought it "tickled"!

Don't worry, he will adjust quickly, they talk weird for a few days until they get used to it.

The wonderful thing is it WORKED and it saved my DD from having to go through major extractions in order to make room for her permanent teeth.

Oh and my DD never used a pacifier, she hated them! She just has a small palate.