Question about orthodonics

[Houdini]

I posted this in dental as well, but thought I would get more responses in this forum. My youngest is getting a palate expander at the end of June. He will be five on Friday, so I am a little nervous about what to expect. I have heard it is painful and I worried about how he will fair. Anyone with experience or advice???

[1growingsprout]

i didnt get over to dental is see if you got any responses... just sending lots of hugs to you...

[boongirl]

I had one when I was 8. HATED IT! HATED IT! I cried every night when it had to be done. I survived and it did not scar me for life but it was no fun at all. Sorry I do not have better advice. Five seems young for this. Maybe the orthodontist has some advice, based on his/her experience.

[annekevdbroek]

I had one when I was 13 or so. I don't remember it being too bad - but 13 is A LOT older than 5. I had terrible bite problems (still do) and the palate expander was the least of the procedures/orthodontics that I experienced, so that may color my memory too. I got my first retainers when I was about 8 or 9, and that was much earlier than I can recall ever seeing other kids have them.

My son inherited my bite and our dentist told us that they don't start orthodontics until late childhood/early teens due to various skeletal developmental issues (I can't recall the details). I am suprised to hear about a palate expander at age 5.

[vallecjb]

Maybe a second opinion?

My husband is a pediatric dentist and usually feels that this is a bit young for orthodontic measures. I might consider a second opinion. Ask around about other orthodontists and/or pediatric dentists for a good referral. There are (sadly) a lot of "bad eggs" out there that are very aggressive with treatment plans (sorry to say to make more $$$). GOOD LUCK!

[Zig]

I had one when I was seven or thereabouts. I remember I had it when I went to summer camp for the first time and the poor counselor had to turn the key in it every night; I'm sure we were both glad that it was only a three night camp!

I remember being more bothered by the spacers that were put in prior to the appliance than I was by the expander itself. I do think my parents were pretty diligent in offering tylenol or the like. I always had a fairly elaborate bedtime routine and they incorporated turning the expander key into that ritual, which made it seem familiar very quickly. But I might be coloring this a bit in memory as it was the first appliance in my twelve years of orthodontia. In the interest of full disclosure I also should point out that my mom had braces when I was five to seven (same orthodontist) and took me to most of her appointments so I didn't experience the same kind of anxiety of the unknown that other kids might. It also gave my mom a lot of credibility in my eyes when she talked to me about the pain being temporary. Do you know anybody that might be able to talk your ds through it?

Good luck!

[Houdini]

My son was born with complete unilateral cleft lip and complete cleft palate. They want to get the expansion done before his bone graft surgery at seven or eight. This is the reason for him getting one so early.

[outdoorlove]

I posted this in dental as well, but thought I would get more responses in this forum. My youngest is getting a palate expander at the end of June. He will be five on Friday, so I am a little nervous about what to expect. I have heard it is painful and I worried about how he will fair. Anyone with experience or advice???

My 10 year old daughter still has part of hers in. She had the top half removed in March. It actually went very well. I'm not sure about age (when is a good or bad time to have it done). My daughters teeth weren't falling out on their own so we had her in to get them pulled when our dentist said that she had no room in her mouth for all her adult teeth. We took her to the ortho and she got the palate expander. Her ortho did top and bottom. The bottom one is a stabilizer I believe. It doesn't need expanding. My daughter was a trooper when they inserted them. She didn't fuss much she just cried a little because she said her gums were sore. I suppose it feels a little like getting braces. I was with her and considering she can't handle any type of pain and is very sensitive to EVERYTHING - she did excellent. She had the top expander removed in March and she enjoyed it. She went into the appointment by herself by her own request. She won't get the bottom out until October. Her teeth look great. The explanation I got was that once a child is 12 it is too late to get the procedure because the tissue has hardened and cannot be expanded.

As far as the expanding part. I was given the magic key and I was to insert it once a day and crank away. My daughter said she could feel some tingling in her nose when I did it. She said it felt weird but not painful. When she came home from the clinic the first day it was installed she did have a headache but that was gone after the first day. She didn't enjoy having me crank the expander because she said she hated the sensation in her nose but it wasn't at all pain she was feeling. Trust me - she would have screamed like a nut if it had been.

[gr8tfulmom]

My oldest dd had her expander placed at age 8. The key can be a bit tricky, the first few times I was scared to death I was going to poke her or drop it down her throat. After the first week we got used to it and she didn't complain about it hurting at all. I think she liked the novelty of having something that not all the kids did. She was seriously miffed by the "no gum" rule, that was the worst of it for us. Hope all goes well.

[ChristaN]

My niece has one and it looks like my nephew will need one as well. My niece got hers at 6 before the bones fused as well. It bugged her for the first week or so, thus it was put in during the summer so she would be used to it and no longer speaking a bit funny by the time school started. After a week or two, she was aclimated to it and rarely even notices it anymore. It's due to come out soon.

[mommy68]

This seems too young for such a thing. Have you gotten second & third opinions from other dentists/orthodontists? My son had a spacer put in his mouth to keep his teeth from shifting while new ones were coming in...but he was 8 and that's just a tiny little thing that he didn't feel. I would seriously consider other options since your child is only 5 years old. It sounds like a very drastic measure to me.

[Houdini]

This decision was made by the orthodonist he has seen since birth at Children's Hospital Craniofacial Clinic. It was seconded by our local orthodonist who will be doing all the braces/orthodonics work. We are going to the Craniofacial Clinic this afternoon and will be comfirming what the course of action will be. He will see his surgeon, orthodonist/dentist, speech, and ENT doctor. I will let you know what they say.

[outdoorlove]

My son was born with complete unilateral cleft lip and complete cleft palate.

I think that makes sense. His situation is unique compared to other children's need for the palate expander. I read up on it when my daughter had it done and I think the fear is more in doing it too late more than doing it too early.