Reply to Sensory issues and palate expander / braces

Forum Index » Kids With Special Needs and Disabilities

Reply to "Sensory issues and palate expander / braces"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]My kid had very early sensory stuff - refused socks, shoes, teeth brushing, wanting pajamas all the time. (ADHD/autism dx a few years ago, but communications skills are pretty good… though intense.) I was very nervous about how she would tolerate the palate expander. I had experience from her older, very tolerant sibling.

We talked a lot about how this was not going to be great. We just needed to make room for all her teeth. I still remember how she kept trying to pull her cheeks away from the bands when it was installed. Her reaction to having a contraption in the roof of her mouth was to make a slurping sound every time she needed to swallow. For months. Memorable!

She and I decided together that she would lay back on a bean bag chair or flat on her bed for turning the key each night. We marked the number of nightly turns in a way we could both keep track. The orthodontist told us how many turns it would likely be and only added on a few more. I used a flashlight and always suggested that she close her eyes. The flashlight helped me get in and get out of her mouth quickly (to avoid gagging). My husband didn’t want any part of this - but the more dexterous parent should probably be the lead.

I was grateful that our orthodontist really minimized the time the expander was in her mouth - just a few months - it was replaced with some sort of roof wire maybe a month after the turns were done. The loud slurping sounds were the worst part for me. I worried that this was going to be some kind of long lasting tic or that her peers would tease her. She swallows normally now. 🙂
[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics