Second Palate Expander

[Kindra178]

Ds1 completed phase 1 approx 3 years ago. He had an expander and a few braces across the top. He’s 12 - the ortho, after meeting with his ortho partners, concluded that he should get a second expander. Has anyone heard of this?


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[nfceagles]

Never, but I’m no expert. I thought the palate was fused by his age, hence why they do it when they’re younger.


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[dhano923]

My DD got her phase 2 braces about 3 months ago. They considered having another expander for her too. The first one she had a couple years ago did its job, but they were thinking putting another one now would help push her teeth out a little more so they could be straightened faster. In the end, the ended up going with a slightly different course of treatment which didn't involve an expander.

[connor_mommy]

Yes, we had a 2nd palate expander after braces were put in due to sleep apnea. They stopped working on the braces and did the palate expansion. Sometime the wire were removed but the brackets were still there. But for the most part the wires and brackets stayed in place while the palate was expanded.

[Kindra178]

Never, but I’m no expert. I thought the palate was fused by his age, hence why they do it when they’re younger.


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I asked that exact question - it’s not. Maybe it is in girls? One interesting thing - back in the day he would have had teeth pulled. Now we know that the mouth can still be expanded at 12.

Thanks DH for that update. This came totally out of left field for me.


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[SuenosDelMar]

No never. Maybe the first one didn't do it's job. With older daughter we did the expander and it was pretty worthless. I switched orthos after the one I was using said he would not guarantee they wouldn't need to pull teeth which I was completely against. I went to a Damon dentist and he said no teeth would likely need to be pulled. He was right and he did exactly what he said he would.

My ortho is completely against expanders as in his experience, they do not work. My eight year old is now in full braces for a year to make space. He said they use the "shadows" to find space. First phase is just making room. Then years long rest phase and last phase will be refining everything. I am not one to trust health care providers, but this guy has worked with Damon himself and his confidence and knowledge and the way he combines the science and art of orthodontics have surpassed my expectations.

I highly recommend getting a consult from a Damon ortho. The process was very gentle for both daughters unlike the trauma and pain I experienced with traditional braces.

[klwa]

No knowledge on the second palate expander, but as to the 12 being too old: that's the age I was when my ortho put me in a palate expander due to underbite issues. He did not believe in putting children in them much earlier than that. Based on my experience, I think it's still a good time for it to be done.