Who Would Need a Palatal Expander?
Usually, a palate expander is prescribed for a young child, but teenagers and adults can also have this treatment.
We may recommend a palate expander in the following situations:
- Overcrowded and overlapping teeth.
- Problems chewing.
- Misalignments like a crossbite, open bite, underbite, or overbite.
- Crooked teeth.
- Impacted teeth.
Children with a thumb or finger-sucking habit or other habits like tongue thrusting may need a palate expander since the pressure can narrow the upper jaw as it forms, creating a crossbite.
By widening your upper jaw, we can create more space for your teeth, improving how your upper and lower teeth occlude or bite together.
Wearing a palate expander can also help people with obstructive sleep apnea, a sleep disorder that causes frequent pauses in breath as the airway becomes obstructed.
Widening the upper jaw can help correct this problem in certain circumstances. There is some evidence that it can help widen the nasal cavity so you can breathe more freely during sleep.
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How Does a Palate Expander Work?
The roof of your mouth for your upper palate consists of two halves with a suture or fibrous layer between them. A palatal expander works by gradually applying continual force on each side of your upper palate, pushing these two halves apart.
As the halves come apart, it widens your upper palate and upper jawbone. The gap between the two halves is gradually filled with new bone. This fibrous tissue will have already become harder in teenagers and adults. This is why treatment is faster for younger children, where this hasn’t yet happened.
Is a Palate Expander Painful?
Any oral device can cause discomfort or pain initially. You may find you experience palate expander pain when widening the device daily.
Over-the-counter painkillers should relieve tenderness and pain if this is the case. If you experience severe pain or discomfort, please get in touch with us immediately. We can adjust the palate expander so it feels more comfortable.
What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Having a Palate Expander?
The advantages of having a palate expander can include:
- A palate expander can correct common dental issues like overcrowding and misalignment.
- When a child wears a palate expander, it can avoid or reduce the need for oral surgery later.
- You can use a palate expander with orthodontic appliances like headgear and dental braces.
Having a palate expander has no real disadvantages, but it’s important to note that adult treatment may take longer because adult bones are fully formed and hardened. Additionally, you may need time to get accustomed to wearing a palate expander.
In the meantime, you may experience temporary side-effects like:
- Headaches.
- Drooling.
- Speech defects like a lisp.
- Food and plaque can become trapped underneath and around your palate expander, so it’s important to clean it thoroughly to prevent this.
When Would a Child Need a Palate Expander?
Although anyone of any age can have a palate expander, they are most often used for children because their jaw bones are still forming and developing. Therefore, we can use these growth spurts to guide the development of their jaw bones.
Generally, we fit palate expanders when a child is seven or eight. This may sound young, but using a device at this age can help achieve excellent results and may avoid the need for more invasive treatment later.
How Long Will a Child’s Treatment Take?
A palate expander usually takes two or three months to widen a child’s upper jaw. However, this can vary as everyone is unique.
How Long Will Treatment Take for Teenagers or Adults?
If we recommend a palate expander during your teens or when you are an adult, then your jaw bones will already be fully developed and are harder compared with a young child’s jaws. The process of widening a teenager’s or adult’s upper jaw does take longer. You may need to use a palate expander for up to a year to achieve optimal results.
After wearing a palate expander we may want you to keep it in for several months afterward, even though your upper jaw is the right width. Keeping the device in place gives your jawbone time to remodel so the two sides of your upper palate can become stronger and firmly fused together.
After palatal expansion, most patients, espesially teens, continue treatment with orthodontic braces designed for teenagers to fully align their teeth.
What Our Patients Are Saying
Are There Different Types of Palate Expanders?
Yes, depending on your requirements, we can supply several kinds of palate expanders. The most frequently used include removable, Invisalign, rapid, implant-supported, or surgically assisted.
Removable Palate Expander
A removable palate expander looks like a retainer you would wear after orthodontic treatment but is made from chrome. You may be suitable for this type of palate expander when your upper jaw only needs to be widened slightly.
Rapid Palate Expander
A rapid palate expander fits into your upper palate and is attached to your upper back teeth to hold it firmly in place. These devices can widen your jaw as much as 0.5 mm each day. It generally takes between three and six months to achieve optimal results.
You are given a special key that fits into a tiny screw in the middle of the palate expander. Each day, you insert the key into the screw and turn it a little bit to gradually widen the device. Widening the palate expander places tension on your upper jawbones, pulling the two palatal bones apart so the upper jaw widens.
Invisalign Palatal Expander
Invisalign’s palatal expander has no screw, which is more comfortable. Because the device is removable, daily oral care is easier.
Implant Supported Palate Expander
We only tend to supply these palate expanders to teenagers and adults. It is a device that requires us to work closely with an oral surgeon who can insert four mini dental implants into the upper jaw.
The palatal expander is designed to place pressure on the mini dental implants rather than on your teeth, gradually widening the upper jaw.
Surgically Assisted Rapid Palate Expander
You would need this option if you have a more moderate or severe case where your upper palate needs to be widened significantly. We may also suggest this for adults whose facial bones are fully developed and hardened.
During this procedure, we work with an oral surgeon who places the expander in the middle of your palate, where the left and right sides meet together. The device relies on your upper back teeth for support and must be activated daily to widen it. Treatment continues until you get the desired results.
How to Tell If You Need a Palate Expander?
The only way to know for sure is to see an orthodontist. If you are concerned that you or your child has overlapping, overcrowded, or crooked teeth, schedule an appointment to come and see us. We can assess your mouth and determine a suitable treatment plan. The plan may include a palate expander or other orthodontic treatments instead. If you have any questions or would like to make an appointment, call Invisalign office in Kings County at (718) 375-3757.