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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Get a second opinion, but please don't fear the expander. There's a limited time in life in which these really work. My orthodontist (Rad in Bethesda) recommended one for one of my three kids, but not the other two. A good orthodontist won't take a one-size-fits-all approach.

Also run far away from any orthodontist who wants to pull adult teeth.

My experience -- I have a cross-bite that was attempted to be fixed in the 1970s with a removable expander and it didn't work, not surprisingly. My orthodontist in my teens took out four permanent teeth (first bicuspids) as there wasn't room for them in my mouth given my jaw had not been expanded. This has led to a narrowing of my palate and jaw.

Meanwhile, I have gum recession because of the unfixed cross-bite and bad bite and am facing gum grafts in the not too distant future.

Now I'm in my mid-50s and I have breathing and sleep issues that directly stem from my overly narrow palate and airway. I've been considering double jaw surgery -- which is a huge surgery and not one to be taken lightly -- to help reverse this narrowing. A CPAP machine does no good given my structural issues.

I'd give anything to be able to go back in time and have the kind of modern expansion available these days when I was young enough and my jaw was still growing to have it work.[/quote]

I am similar to you and I am actually having the surgery!  Upper jaw will be broken to widen and lower jaw will be broken to move forward a bit.  I am already in braces to straighten my teeth as much as possible before the surgery.  I had only 1 tooth removed during childhood and the braces now will recreate the space so I can get an implant.  End goal: straight teeth, proper bite, no weak chin and no snoring :)[/quote]

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