I just got a palate expander on Thursday, and I have a few questions?!
Question: I got my braces in August 2007, and on Thursday... I got a palate expander. I have a few questions, and I'd love if you all could answer them for me. Thanks so much! Happy Easter :)
1. What is the main purpose of a palate expander?
2. How long will I have to wear it?
3. When I have a lot of spit in my mouth, how can I get the spit out because when I swallow, it doesn't go away?
4. How can I clean food out of the palate expander when it gets caught up there?
5. I talk funny with it. When will that stop?
6. Can I still eat normal foods with it?
Thanks so much!
Answers: I got my braces in August 2007, and on Thursday... I got a palate expander. I have a few questions, and I'd love if you all could answer them for me. Thanks so much! Happy Easter :)
1. What is the main purpose of a palate expander?
2. How long will I have to wear it?
3. When I have a lot of spit in my mouth, how can I get the spit out because when I swallow, it doesn't go away?
4. How can I clean food out of the palate expander when it gets caught up there?
5. I talk funny with it. When will that stop?
6. Can I still eat normal foods with it?
Thanks so much!
I got palatal expander last December and got them off on February 2008. I'm 14 BTW.
1. This function of this appliance is to widen the upper jaw itself.
http://www.orthonj.com/rpe.html#work
2. It depends on how narrow your jaw is/on your case. Your ortho will tell you how many times you have to turn the key for how many days. Wait, didn't your ortho tell you this? In my case, I had to turn the key twice (morning & night) for 2 weeks. After that, you'll have to see your ortho so that she/he can see if the turns you've made is sufficient or not. If not, your ortho will prescribe you more turns. If it's sufficient, he/she will cement the key hole so that it's closed. Then, your expander will be left in the mouth for usually 3 months to retain the new width of your palate.
3. You have to find a technique yourself. Don't worry if you can't figure out any. You'll develop your own technique naturally without you even knowing. I have my technique where I insert my tongue on the metal bar (through the back) and swallow.
4. Again, you'll develop your own technique. Again, I used my tongue to clean the area. You can use an interdental brush with long handle to clean it thoroughly.
5. Yea, I get you. I was a lisper freak during the first 5 days in palatal expander. Hopefully your lisping won't last long ;P. Your tongue will accustom to it's new position and you'll talk normally again after a week or less (I know it sounds impossible but trust me). BUT sadly, you won't speak words that begin with "K" and "G" properly even after gazillion years (example; Kite, Gun). It's impossible! Anyway, Here's a passage I read to speak normally again quickly. It is great for people with appliances and speech issues.
The Rainbow Passage... This is a great tool used by many speech pathologists. It contains most of the sounds and phonetic combinations in the English language. Repeat this several times a day out loud. It