Questions about palate expander in kids..

[Anonymous]

If you child had expander,was he/she able to close the mouth and teeth touching or the glue prevented it?

What did they eat? Looks like a lot of them can't eat anything but liquids - like yogurt and apple sauce ..

How long do they talk with other sounds ?

Anything else I need to know ?

Thank you 🧡

[Anonymous]

Both my child and I have had palate expanders. From my own experience you can eat normally. You might have a sore mouth for a day but by no means are restricted to a soft diet for the duration of the treatment. Obviously certain sticky or excessively hard items are off the menu. The brackets go around the back molars and don’t impact bite. It may be weird at first but it’s easy to get used to.

[Anonymous]

Mine ate normally after a few hours. Didn't have any headaches or pain. Did not have a lisp or any speech difficulties.

[Anonymous]

I was honestly freaked out about this torture device for my kids.... and then they had it put on (and I felt so bad for them)... and they did quite well with it. Seriously.

My DD did have a lisp for a couple of days. My DS did not. He's the one we were more worried about with eating and adjustments b/c he's super picky and very underweight. He actually adjusted more quickly than DD.

In the end, I was more freaked out than I needed to be. They both did better than expected with it.

[Anonymous]

My dd has had hers for a couple of months. Her speech is still affected. She’s eating mostly a normal diet, except for some unfortunate exceptions like peanut butter and bananas. Those were a not insignificant part of regular meals, so that sucks, as she’s fairly picky. We’re making do for now.

[Anonymous]

My 8 year old has a palate expander now and her mouth closes normally - there is no obstruction. She eats completely normally although it has been gross helping her get food out of the expander since a lot gets stuck, and she makes this weird clicking noise when she tries to suck food out herself. I think the first 24 hours or so after getting the expander her mouth was sore and she ate softer foods, but we gave her Advil and she was back to normal within a couple days. She did eat a little slower at first since she had to chew more, which was actually a plus (but short lived).

She did sound a little different at first but I was barely noticeable and not really a lisp. We all got used to it quickly.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks so much. We'll monitor for a couple of more days but the kid is saying - only can eat mushed food like mashed potato and yogurt. Like, can't chew because teeth don't touch (I think there too much glue, will that follow out?)

Yes, definitely there is a lisp and a very strong one. I am surprised to hear about kids who could it normally almost right away and did not have a lisp. Thank you for sharing!

[Anonymous]

Mine only wore it at night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine only wore it at night.

OP here. But I thought they glue the expanders in? May be you are thinking of a retainer?

[Anonymous]

We found a water pik to be super helpful in getting food out. The worst offender was rice! Honestly OP, it sounds like you should go back to the ortho bc my DD had a very messed up bite and did not have any of the issues with the expander that you’re describing. She was eating normally the next day. I did have to give her Motrin for a few days after turning the “key” as she had some pain. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine only wore it at night.

OP here. But I thought they glue the expanders in? May be you are thinking of a retainer?

No, not the retainer. It was a removable expander. It was a different county so there were different appliances available.

[Anonymous]

I had one myself. They put in a herbst appliance at the same time and that was the rough one. The expander wasn’t so bad except it broke like a week before I was due to have it out and that hurt. Bagels may not be on the bad list but keep them away.

The little key thing was strange but didn’t really hurt when it was expanded. My mom was terrified she would drop the key down my throat and put it on a string she tied to her wrist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was honestly freaked out about this torture device for my kids.... and then they had it put on (and I felt so bad for them)... and they did quite well with it. Seriously.

My DD did have a lisp for a couple of days. My DS did not. He's the one we were more worried about with eating and adjustments b/c he's super picky and very underweight. He actually adjusted more quickly than DD.

In the end, I was more freaked out than I needed to be. They both did better than expected with it.

+1

[Anonymous]

total waste of money. First child had it and I drank the koolaide. Second child they told me the teeth wouldn’t come out if I didn’t go this route and you know what -they did come out and now teeth look straight so there is that.

[Anonymous]

My kid just got the expander out after wearing it for 11 months. He also wore a head mask for underbite. The first day was the most difficult. He had trouble even drinking water and didn’t eat anything on the first day. Had trouble even with yogurt and apple sauce. By the second day he was eating normally. We avoided potato chips, gummy vitamins and nuts. He ate everything else. But during the first 1 or 2 months he did lose weight because he was eating lesser. I don’t remember him having a lisp. The key turning was terrifying for us but he never experienced any pain. Good luck!