Palate Expanders Marysville, WA
Young children can greatly benefit from orthodontic treatment, and here at Smokey Point Orthodontics, you will find a team that wants to provide high-quality orthodontic treatment for your children, which includes using palatal expanders in Marysville to help their dental development and avoid orthodontic problems as they age.
One of the most common orthodontic appliances used by dental alignment specialists to treat kids is the palate expander, also known as “orthodontic expander.”
These appliances represent an innovative and effective solution for dental crowding, as they work by gradually expanding the arch in your kid’s mouth. One main characteristic of the device is that the work done isn’t entirely passive, and there is a small learning curve for parents. Fortunately, we’re driven by the commitment to provide nothing but the finest in customized orthodontic care in a safe and enjoyable setting for your kid.
What Is a Palatal Expander Marysville, WA?
If your kid requires an orthodontic expander following their first visit with a Marysville orthodontist, you will also have to pay close attention to their treatment progression, giving you the opportunity to become greatly involved with your kid’s orthodontic care.
Parents will have to “do the turns” every day so the appliance continues expanding your kid’s dental arch on schedule.
The way this works is by applying gentle pressure on your kids’ upper molars as the expander widens the gap. Even after reaching the desired expansion, your kid will still have to wear the palate expander for several months to ensure the results stick and avoid any treatment regression.
Should My Kid Use a Palatal Expander?
We can achieve successful palate expansion in young children whose growth plate in the roof of the mouth (the mid-palatal suture) has not yet been calcified or fused.
Typically, the fusion of the midpalatal suture takes place between 14 and 16 years of age, so if your child is younger than this, arch expansion is still a possible treatment option.
The best orthodontist Marysville parents can get for their kids will install the palatal expander into their child’s mouth and attach it to the upper arch via bands that are placed around the teeth and then cemented in place.
Initially, kids feel some discomfort when their orthodontist for kids places the expanders, but the discomfort eventually goes away, and afterward, it is practically painless. Patients often say that they feel pressure on the roof of the mouth as the expander pushes outward on the arch.
Should I Go to a Kids’ Orthodontist for Palatal Expanders?
Though there are removable expanders on the market, fixed expanders have some important advantages, particularly for kids. In particular, fixed orthodontic expanders are unlikely to get lost or forgotten.
What Should I Expect From a Treatment With a Palate Expander?
Parents need to be prepared for the treatment process that their child is going to go through during the arch expansion. Often, kids speak differently for a few days following the initial placement of the device. They may make a slurping sound sometimes as the mouth makes extra saliva after the expander is cemented in place.
Parents will also notice that, as the suture starts to open, the two upper incisors in the center of the arch will develop a gap. This gap is caused when the arch expander pushes the palate in opposite directions. If the expander stops being activated, however, the space will close on its own as the elastic fibers in the gums pull the teeth back into their original positions. Despite the closing of the gap between the teeth, the bone tissues remain expanded.
It’s normal for the teeth to feel a little loose in the mouth during treatment, and they may feel sore, too. It would be wise to feed your fun child foods that don’t require a lot of chewing. For example, mashed potatoes, yogurt, ice cream, soup, milkshakes, or pudding would be excellent choices. Within only a couple of days, your child will be able to eat normally again, and the soreness will go away.
Often, the Marysville orthodontist will opt to over-expand the arch just a bit to allow plenty of room for the teeth to move. There is always some relapse of the arch back to its original size, so the dentist will make sure that the arch expansion is expanded just a little bit beyond the ideal size to allow for a small amount of relapse. After the Marysville orthodontist feels that the target size has been reached, they instruct you on how long the palatal expander needs to stay put to solidify the results. In some cases, the orthodontist may recommend that the expander stays in place throughout the remainder of the treatment, while in other cases, it may be possible to remove the device as soon as two months after the ideal arch expansion has been achieved.
