Anonymous wrote:Echoing the comments saying get a second opinion. The two we got were night and day and it definitely seemed like the first was trying to do a hard sell. We are seeing the second for treatment.

I had the same experience with my oldest. We went with the dentist who didn't suggest the expander. But then my youngest did get an expander from the same dentist. In theory they seem awful to me. But it wasn't too bad, although I always worried I'd drop the key down his throat when adjusting it. My youngest also needed some teeth pulled because his baby teeth were really slow to all come out. But the dentist waited a long time before she said to pull them.

Anonymous wrote:I agree with getting second and even third opinions.

While I am certain there are good reasons for a relatively small number of kids younger than 12 or 13 starting down the orthodontia path I have never heard a good explanation for why it's become so widespread over the last 20+ years.

It’s cosmetic 80% of the time. I can’t stand it.

- dentist

I agree with getting second and even third opinions.

While I am certain there are good reasons for a relatively small number of kids younger than 12 or 13 starting down the orthodontia path I have never heard a good explanation for why it's become so widespread over the last 20+ years.

Anonymous wrote:Don’t do the expander!

A very thoughtful and well-constructed response.

Don’t do the expander!

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.

Why would you not get the expander?

Anonymous wrote:Highly recommend the expander after seeing how great it worked for my son. It actually pretty amazing how it worked.

I had teeth pulled for overcrowding + braces. My son had an expander + braces. He now has a perfect set of straight teeth. Mine are straight too, but he still has all his teeth and that looks better. Plus having teeth pulled sucks. And I still had to live some part of my childhood with janky teeth that had to be forced down. Conversely the expander at a young age made it so all his teeth fit.
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Also, I want to add that he's in 8th grade and had his braces off earlier this year. Each stage of the process took less time than was forecast and seemed so much easier than how I remember mine going. It's so cool that he's now entering high school with great teeth. He still wears a retainer at night, and has a permanent retainer for his lowers, but even the retainer is so much less intrusive than mine was.

I think it's important NOT to compare our experiences with theirs when making these types of decisions. The tech is so much better now, and having been through it recently, I think it's absolutely nutso not to take advantage of everything they've learned about teeth in the past 30-40 years.

Now it's standard to start younger and use the expanders to make the whole process more seamless.

A second opinion is always a great idea, but so many of my friends were like you, and their kids are now older and just starting braces, and I just feel lucky we listened to our ortho and are done.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have heard that older orthodontists pull teeth, rather lightly.

Younger orthodontists are trained to try hard to save healthy teeth.

I would recommend a consult with Dr. Gerlein in Bethesda. He is VERY expensive , but saved my child 4 extractions. And her teeth are beautiful.

Yes I was also told pulling teeth was old school and can weaken your jaw bone long term. An expander us not a big deal and should not affect eating after a day ish.

Run far far away from any dentist/ortho that tells you pulling teeth will “weaken the jawbone long term.” Total BS.

- dentist

LOL...He told us to run far away from you! DS was fine with an expander. Never got teeth pulled.

I am the PP dentist. My daughter had an expander b/c of her high palatal vault.
Either extractions or expanders are acceptable and equally effective.

There is no research out there that supports the statement of jaw weakening. Its pure BS.

I absolutely would not get my child's teeth pulled. That is a big fat NO from me.

We got three opinions when my child needed braces - one said we should pull teeth and then get braces, one said we should get braces now and would definitely need a phase 2 in high school, and the third said we should get braces now and she would keep an eye on it to see if she needed braces in high school, but wouldn't know for a few years. We went with the lowest level of intervention.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have heard that older orthodontists pull teeth, rather lightly.

Younger orthodontists are trained to try hard to save healthy teeth.

I would recommend a consult with Dr. Gerlein in Bethesda. He is VERY expensive , but saved my child 4 extractions. And her teeth are beautiful.

Yes I was also told pulling teeth was old school and can weaken your jaw bone long term. An expander us not a big deal and should not affect eating after a day ish.

Run far far away from any dentist/ortho that tells you pulling teeth will “weaken the jawbone long term.” Total BS.

- dentist

LOL...He told us to run far away from you! DS was fine with an expander. Never got teeth pulled.

Highly recommend the expander after seeing how great it worked for my son. It actually pretty amazing how it worked.

I had teeth pulled for overcrowding + braces. My son had an expander + braces. He now has a perfect set of straight teeth. Mine are straight too, but he still has all his teeth and that looks better. Plus having teeth pulled sucks. And I still had to live some part of my childhood with janky teeth that had to be forced down. Conversely the expander at a young age made it so all his teeth fit.
.

One of my three needed a palate expander. It wasn’t a big deal. He was very underweight but the expander didn’t affect eating after the first day. I found it preferable to extractions. He was 8 when he got it. It was effective.

My kid had an expander at that age. It improved their speech AND their sleep, which improved their mood and behavior. I will be forever grateful for it. And while they had braces right after to bring the teeth back together, they didn’t end up needing the full set when they were a tween/teen