Palatal Expanders
Expanders
As a parent, your child’s health and happiness are top priorities. When your orthodontist mentions a "palatal expander," it’s natural to have questions. You might feel a little apprehensive, but we're here to put your mind at ease. Palatal expanders are a common, gentle, and incredibly effective tool that sets the foundation for a lifetime of healthy, beautiful smiles. We're here to answer the most common questions about expanders and show you just how simple and beneficial this treatment can be.
A palatal expander is a small, custom-made orthodontic appliance that sits snugly around your child’s back teeth and in the roof of their mouth. Its purpose is to gently and gradually widen the upper jaw (the palate) to create more space.
This is most effective in children because their upper jaw is made of two separate bones that haven’t fully fused yet. By guiding this natural growth process, we can prevent more complex issues down the road.
Not all children would benefit from an expander. It is often recommended as an early orthodontic treatment for several reasons, including:
Correcting a Crossbite: This is when the upper teeth sit inside the lower teeth. An expander can correct this misalignment, allowing the upper and lower jaws to fit together properly an allowing proper growth.
Preventing Overcrowding: By widening the jaw, expanders create the necessary space for permanent teeth to erupt without being crowded out. This can often prevent the need for tooth extractions later.
Addressing Impacted Teeth: If a permanent tooth is blocked from erupting by other teeth, an expander can create the space it needs to emerge naturally. This is most common with the canine teeth.
Improving Breathing: In some cases, a narrow palate can contribute to breathing difficulties, or be a result of large tonsils and adenoids. By widening the jaw, expanders can help improve a child’s airway, which may alleviate issues like mouth breathing or even snoring.
The process is surprisingly simple and comfortable.
Custom Fitting: We’ll take a digital scan or impression of your child’s mouth to create a custom expander that fits perfectly-no messy impressions!
Insertion- We will place your child appliance with a little gentle pressure. Our expanders are 3D printed, so no more spacers!
Activation: The expander has a small hole in the center. With a special key, a parent or child turns the screw a tiny amount each day, as instructed by our team.
Gradual Expansion: Over the course of a several weeks, the gentle pressure widens the palate. You will see us every couple of weeks during the active turning so we can monitor the progress. A temporary gap may appear between the two front teeth—this is a normal and exciting sign that the expander is working!
Stabilization: Once the desired width is achieved, we leave the expander in place for about 6 months. This allows new bone to form and solidify the expansion, similar to the way a cast on your arm ensures that the bone heals properly.
It’s completely normal for your child to have an adjustment period.
Soreness: There might be a feeling of pressure or mild soreness for a few minutes after turning the key. This typically fades quickly.
Speech: It may take a few days for your child’s tongue to get used to the expander, which can temporarily affect their speech. They will quickly adapt!
Eating: There are a few food you will want to avoid so that the expander stays in place. Particularly sticky food and candies that will pull on the appliance.