Palate Expander - Ortho

Oh, poor thing! 2 of my 3 daughters had braces. The dentist started telling us for both of them at the age of about 7 that they would need them For the oldest, we took her to 3 different ortho guys and got 3 totally different opinions on what to do and when to do it. Even though they told us when she was 7, we waited til she was 12. Her permanant teeth are really big and she is just a little petite thing! Anyway, we waited, her face and mouth grew a bit and the braces were only on for 10 months. She has a beautiful smile now. #2 had a very narrow pallette. Again we went to 2 or 3 guys, got all different approaches. I had heard the pallette stretchers were very painful. Again we waited til she was 11 or 12. The ortho was able to move her uppers and stretch her pallette slowly, without the painful key adjustment. He told us the lowers would follow on their own. They did and she too has a beautiful smile. They are 28 and 31 now with beautiful teeth. Good luck, I know it's hard to watch!

My daughter went through this. I started giving her some motrin about an hour before I had to tighten it to help with the pain. Also, when she gave me a really hard time I drove her to the orthodontist and had the nurse do it (luckily the office is less than 5 min from our house) she might argue with me but she would never argue with the doctor or a nurse. After that she finally gave in and let us do it.

What if you give her ibuprofen 1/2 hour or so before. It *should* help and if anything, it could have a placebo effect. Having had braces and oral surgery as a teen, I can attest to how painful it is!

**Umm...actually they put these in BEFORE the bones in kids' mouths fuse at the top...they aren't breaking anything. Doing it later in life would be excruciatingly painful torture. Research, people!**

M. ~
My son always did his himself, he said it hurt less that way. I also medicated him with motrin ahead of time just to help.
D.

Hi M. I worked in the ortho field for 14 years and put many expanders on children, how many times are you supposed to turn per day? I really feel you should be able to ask the orthodontist if you can turn once in a.m. once in p.m. if your to do it 2x per day. There are always options with those things, The only thing is she may have it in longer b/c it will take longer to work, but it may never work if she won't let you turn it at all! Also I would consider something she really wants and say at the end of this appliance IF you cooperate daily we will allow you to have this item.. A little bribe never hurt anyone!!!SMILE!!! Or pay her .50 a day and tell her at the end you will have x amount and can buy whatever you want. Also show her on the internet some pictures of teeth that need braces so she can see the difference. Hope it helps let me know if you have any other questions..

J.

My daughter had the same thing. With approval of your pediatrician or orthodontist, use some pain reliever just before turning. The pain should get less shortly. I do not remember my daughter complaining about the pain as time went on. But boy has it done wonders for a perfect mouth. She is 24 years old now.

try giving her motrin a half hr before doing it and let her know that will ease the pain. Or bargain she will get an ice cream or slurpee if she allows you to tighten it. Or try to get her to do it herself.

My 16 year old son just had his removed this summer... talk about head strong! The ortho told me to give him Tylenol an hou before having to turn it, so it wouldn't be as painful. They also said that it is only painful until the palate seperates, then it doesn't hurt anymore.

I actually had to "threaten" my son, because he wouldn't turn it or let anyone else do it. The ortho told me to tell him the he had a choice, he could turn it himself every day or he could go into the ortho once a week and they would turn it 5 times (which would hurt a lot worse). You could always try that tactic.

Good luck!

Doesn't she ever take it out?? She has to take it out to clean it. Just give her something for the pain and then adjust it. Orthodontics are way too expensive to mess around. You'll have to be firm with her. I had a palatal expander when I was a kid. It does hurt a little, but pain meds really help! Good luck!

I would give her some positive reinforcement. "when we turn the key for 2 days you can have anew book, or ice cream or, when you do this for 4 days you get to go to chuckie cheese, after 3 weeks you can have a build a bear. Whatever she likes. She has to complete the number of days to have the positive event/item happen they can not roll into each other.
Good luck.

This is why I don't think braces should start until the child is old enough to fully understand what is happening to them.

7 is too young IMO to fully grasp why they are being put through such a painful ordeal. (I vividly remember the pain of my expander the bruising on my nose from my palate widening etc) Remember that while Palate Expander is a fairly benign term...what you are doing is intentionally breaking the roof of her mouth...that HURTS

But what's done is done right?

I would give her a dose of both Motrin and Tylenol (they can be used safely together) about 30 minutes BEFORE you turn the key. I would also give her something cold to suck/chew on after turning the key to help deal with the pain/discomfort.

I gave my son a childrens Tylenol about 1/2 hour before I had to turn the key. He has had a palate expander twice, and it seems after the first few turns things loosen up and don't hurt as bad. A popsicle after the turn seems to help a little. But the first few turns, he just turned the lights out and laid down for a while.

Hello M., I've never dealt with the issue of braces, but have had experience with painful procedures. My son was 7 when he fractured his femur, that is the thigh bone. While in traction I had to remove the scabs that formed around the tractions pins that were drilled through his bones. This was very painful and had to be done twice a day. I simply stated what I was going to do, said how careful I was going to try to be, then did it! Your daughter is in charge of this situation right now, and you will have to take that control away from her. Tell her it is not up for debate, that you love her, will try hard to be gentle, and that she can make it easier or harder for herself by her conduct of the situation. Then simply stop negotiating with her and do it. If you need help to hold her down then get it. Don't feel sorry for her, as this will only make it worst for both of you. Make it matter of fact then do something fun right after to distract her from the memory. She will start to look forward to the reward. Hope all works well for you. Good luck.

Congratulations on having a headstrong daughter! That is something you will really want when she starts dating :)

As for the expander, my sister was told they needed one for my neice when she was smaller..... they waited until she was a teenager to do anything and she didn't need it. It is painful. I watched my nephew (tough boy) go through the nightly key turning and he had tears running down his face. Personally, I will wait until my daughter is older before attempting orthodontics.