mom2jjka Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 We had a consult with an orthodontist today for my son. He needs braces, which we have agreed to, but the ortho also discussed the possibility of a palate expander. I have done some research on them, and I am not sure I want him to have one. If your child has/had one....was it extremely painful? Did it cause a change in their physical appearance? (If so - how drastic?) Did it cause speech difficulties? My son gets frequent (and often severe) nosebleeds. Could the expander put additional pressure on his nose, and possibly cause more nosebleeds? I really do not know what to do. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I do not know the answer about the nosebleeds but we are near the end of our daughter's palate expander treatment after a year with it in and I can relate our experience. Sweet-pea has had a palate expander and braces on her top teeth since last October. In the beginning, when we had to turn the crank on the expander she experienced some discomfort. I would give her some children's ibuprofen for a day or so and then she was fine. Usually just a dose or maybe two would do the trick. Nothing in the experience has been what I think she would determine painful and she does not have a terrible high pain tolerance. It altered her appearance slightly in the beginning but nothing most would have noticed. I noticed because I am Mom. No speech difficulties. The biggest difficulty she has had is that long spaghetti noodles get caught on it and gag her so she needs her spaghetti cut up. No speech difficulties have been noticed. Sweet-Pea had severely crowded teeth and the difference since we began treatment is amazing. It has been somewhat of an inconvenience for her since her diet is altered (no popcorn) but it has been worth every second. I don't regret it at all. I am sure that she would have had a lot more severe braces treatment later if we had not taken this step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 My dd had one to correct her "binky mouth". It worked beautifully and she was so happy with the results. She only needed to have it in for four or five months and it was a minor inconvenience and took a little getting used to, but it wasn't really that painful. She would do it all over again in a minute for the beautiful smile she got as a result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 All 3 of mine had palate expanders. They never had any complaints or pain. The other problems we had was when I tried get that tiny key in they teeny tiny hole in the expander at the top of their mouth. Lots of gagging and frustration until I got the hang of it. The little one's palate expander saved us from having full orthodontics because it made room for her adult teeth to come in properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirch Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I do not know the answer about the nosebleeds but we are near the end of our daughter's palate expander treatment after a year with it in and I can relate our experience. Sweet-pea has had a palate expander and braces on her top teeth since last October. In the beginning, when we had to turn the crank on the expander she experienced some discomfort. I would give her some children's ibuprofen for a day or so and then she was fine. Usually just a dose or maybe two would do the trick. Nothing in the experience has been what I think she would determine painful and she does not have a terrible high pain tolerance. It altered her appearance slightly in the beginning but nothing most would have noticed. I noticed because I am Mom. No speech difficulties. The biggest difficulty she has had is that long spaghetti noodles get caught on it and gag her so she needs her spaghetti cut up. No speech difficulties have been noticed. :iagree: This has been our experience exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 My oldest had a palate expander for about 18 months beginning at 9yo. His baby teeth were crooked and the first ortho we took him to wanted to just pull a bunch of teeth and put on braces. The palate expander opened up his palate so he doesn't need to have any teeth pulled except one impacted tooth that will not come in on its own. Instead of 3-4 years in braces, it will be 18 months. He didn't complain of pain, only mild discomfort at first. He didn't have any issues with speech once he got used to it...maybe 2 weeks after it was in. It didn't really change the way he looks in an obvious or unpleasant way. It was a gradual thing. He has matured a lot so who knows what he would look like now if he had't had it...maybe his face would be thinner? I don't know. Don't know anything about the nosebleeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 My ds had one when he was eight. He wore it for six months. I turned the key every night for thirty days, then it stayed in place to hold the position. He never complained of pain, even the first day. He had a very narrow mouth and constant headaches. Within two months, he had no more headaches. The orthodontist thinks they were from the pressure of his permanent teeth trying to erupt. I haven't notice any change in his face, though I did ask the ortho if it would happen. My son's expander was a newer type and didn't take up the entire roof of his mouth. He also had braces put on his two front teeth. This kept them from spreading apart really wide. He now has braces on the top four teeth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted September 20, 2011 Author Share Posted September 20, 2011 Thanks everyone. The ortho wants to start with a bite plate and head gear first, and then move on to the expander. DS is terrified it will hurt. I'm more worried it will cause more nosebleeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 What does your son's doctor think is causing the nosebleeds? My son has never had one at all, so the expander didn't cause it in him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphabetika Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 My dd's palate expander wasn't painful at all, though a bit uncomfortable in those few weeks where we were "turning the key" to expand it. No change in appearance. A slight speech change, but nothing drastic. It looks much worse than it is! (At least from her perspective.) She had it in for the full year she had her first phase of braces because her orthodontist wanted her jaw to stay expanded while the braces were doing their work. It worked perfectly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted September 20, 2011 Author Share Posted September 20, 2011 What does your son's doctor think is causing the nosebleeds? My son has never had one at all, so the expander didn't cause it in him. He has a group of capillaries( or was it tiny veins?) very close to the surface inside of his nostril, and any slight change in pressure causes them to rupture. Allergies, dry weather, if he gets upset/cries - it causes them to swell and burst open. He has had them cauterized once already - it helped lessen the frequency, but did not completely stop them. At the request of his ENT he uses saline nasal spray and Bacitracin in that nostril daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 You might give the ENT a call and see if he/she thinks it will put pressure on the capillaries. I would worry about that, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tntgoodwin Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I had two. The top one was semi-permanent, and the bottom was removable like a retainer. They were a little uncomfortable, but not too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solascriptura Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 My dd7 currently has one. She is currently undergoing the headgear/chin cup to fix an underbite. She never complained at all about it. She says it feels "tight." I needed one when I was a kid and instead went through the usual 3 years of braces. I really wish that the palate extender was a normal orthodontic procedure when I was a kid. I don't know about the nose bleeds. Concerning the other issues, tell your son, he will thank you when he is an adult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggiegal Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Please ask what the consequences of not doing this might be. My oldest is in the process of being fitted with the device, and we are doing so in part because hubby's youngest brother, who did not have this done but needed it, arrived at adulthood with such a poorly fitting together mouth he literally could not chew his food--the teeth did not meet. He had his jaw broken and bone removed as a young adult to remedy this, and was in hospital for a few days, and recovery for weeks/months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 (edited) Three of my children have had them. For 2 it did wonders, as a result neither ended up needing braces. It didn't really help #3 as much. It was no more painful than than having braces on and they only wore the expander for 4-6 months I think. It's hard to remember exactly because it was so long ago. Edited September 21, 2011 by Upward Journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 DD had one a couple years ago. She is 11 now. No problem at all. At first her speech was a little different, but she learned to talk around it. Very little if any pain. Can't even remember her ever complaining about pain. All in all, it was easy. She also had headgear that pulled her upper jaw forward. Even with that combined with the expander, it really was ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.