Harriet Vane Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 My son has a palate expander. A week ago one side grew loose and the ring holding it on the teeth slipped down to about midway down the tooth. Last Tuesday they pulled off the entire appliance and refitted it. Today, the opposite side loosened while ds was eating. He's been REALLY good about eating appropriately (no sticky stuff or hard chips, etc.). This time the appliance is REALLY loose--practically falling off the tooth. I put in a call to the ortho but am worried and want advice. Is this normal? I am spooked by this happening twice. Is it okay to leave it alone overnight and bring him in tomorrow to have this addressed? It's really loose--it slips down just past the tooth so that I can feel the edge of it below the tooth. I am worried about chipping other teeth. Are my fears warranted? In this office, there are two orthodontists, and then there are a lot of other young women in scrubs. The women in scrubs are the ones who do most of the work, and then the ortho checks what they did. Honestly, if I had known that this is how the office operates I'm not sure I would have signed a contract with them. When I signed the contract, I thought the orthodontist would be doing the work. Since ds is having these issues twice now with his appliance, I am spooked and scared. The ortho came highly recommended by more than one dentist, so it should be okay???? Is this a normal office set-up? Should I try to insist that the ortho himself fit the appliance this time or will that be micromanaging? Any advice? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Having ortho techs do a lot of the work is a fairly normal practice around here. Most of the practices out here do things this way. (It certainly wasn't that way when I had braces back in the dark ages.) Since they do a lot of the work, they often get more skilled at the physical work of implementing the treatment than the orthodontists are. (Kinda like the way a phlebotomist is better at drawing blood than a doctor.) Did they give you an emergency number? If so, I would call and ask about what to do since that would definitely impact how he eats. They may have you wait until morning, or they may bring someone in to fix it. Ds15 had a lot of trouble with brackets breaking and with his Herbst appliance coming off. I didn't have these problems with ds17 at the same orthodontist. They were using a newer version of the Herbst with ds and they ended up taking it out and using the older variety. Since the same people were working on both boys, I think there may be something to ds15's mouth or the way he eats his food that he has more troubles with things breaking. Our ortho would often call a tech in after hours to take care of issues that couldn't wait (she lived close by and has worked with him for over 10 years.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share Posted September 12, 2011 Having ortho techs do a lot of the work is a fairly normal practice around here. Most of the practices out here do things this way. (It certainly wasn't that way when I had braces back in the dark ages.) Since they do a lot of the work, they often get more skilled at the physical work of implementing the treatment than the orthodontists are. (Kinda like the way a phlebotomist is better at drawing blood than a doctor.) Did they give you an emergency number? If so, I would call and ask about what to do since that would definitely impact how he eats. They may have you wait until morning, or they may bring someone in to fix it. Ds15 had a lot of trouble with brackets breaking and with his Herbst appliance coming off. I didn't have these problems with ds17 at the same orthodontist. They were using a newer version of the Herbst with ds and they ended up taking it out and using the older variety. Since the same people were working on both boys, I think there may be something to ds15's mouth or the way he eats his food that he has more troubles with things breaking. Our ortho would often call a tech in after hours to take care of issues that couldn't wait (she lived close by and has worked with him for over 10 years.) Thanks--I find this reassuring. I did call the emergency number ten minutes ago but have not gotten a call back. I'll give him another twenty minutes before I try calling again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpence1978 Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 How long has he been wearing it? My DD's just kept falling off at the end of her treatment because it was just getting too small for her mouth. Her mouth had expanded so much that the appliance itself didn't fit anymore. Her dentist put it back on a couple of times and then just gave up and took it out. She still has the brackets on her back teeth in case they decide to put in a larger one down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 we never had that problem. In fact I have heard our guy has a really good record for those and the brackets not falling off. Perhaps your person/tech isn't so good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share Posted September 12, 2011 I finally spoke to the ortho, who said to simply bring ds in tomorrow and they would put it back on. I feel stupid for having called the emergency number. However, the whole thing is REALLY loose--waaaaay looser than last week. When this happened to ds last week before, the expander merely slipped a little bit down his tooth. This time is different--it slips down the entire tooth and looks like one good yank will just take the whole thing down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Yeah, we've been through the expander thing three times and I've never had one just come loose like that. Permanent retainers, yes. Brackets, yes. The cat got spooked once and actually caught her claw in my daughter's wire and yanked the entire thing out of her mouth, leaving the brackets affixed to her teeth. The orthodontist was speechless. He'd never heard of a kid losing the wire and no brackets. But we've never had a problem with a palate expander. Something doesn't sound right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I had a palate expander, it fell out ALL the time. Mine was one piece with loops that were glued onto my teeth. The first time the glue just wore out and o.e side came loose. I played with it with my tongue (sticking my tongue between the roof of my mouth and the palate expanded). I would pop it in and out like a retainer. The dentist glued it back in and them I was bad....I had a weakness for caramels and loved gum...it never stayed glued on. Honestly, mine dis not need ro be glued in. My teeth were fine. I did not wear it longer than planned. I don't know how your son's is made, but I would not worry to much. I was more scared that my mom would drop the key down my throat than I was about the whole thing falling out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I was more scared that my mom would drop the key down my throat than I was about the whole thing falling out. :lol: I'm sure this terrified my kids too. As it should have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 :lol: I'm sure this terrified my kids too. As it should have. My mom tied it to a piece of loss so she could pull it back if she dropped it....that did not make me feel better. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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