Dental question

[teelee]

Hi ladies. Baby DS has a crossbite and is going to have to wear something in the roof of his mouth to spread out his top teeth. I can't remember what the dentist called it. I'm not looking forward to it for him. He has to wear it for at least 5 months. The dentist said it will effect his speech by talking with a lisp. He just completed speech for good in May so I'm hoping this doesn't set us back any. The dentist says the best time is now between 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 (baby DS will be 5 in July) before 6 year molars come in and the summer is a good time so he'll be used to it before school.

Has anyone else dealt with this? TIA!

[melinda]

I have had braces but nothing special and the boys will need braces but told we can wait till later, so I don't know anything about an expander? I would assume it would help his speech to give his tongue more room to form words better? Makes sense to me lol I would also assume it would be uncomfortable when they adjust it like braces so I would give Tylenol or Advil before the appt so it will be kicked in when they do it, that's what I did with my braces and it tend to help me, and I would personally do it to get it over with too because later in life it would be harder to correct, But just IMO since I don't really have experience with what your talking about

[ChristianChick]

I wore one also when I was in 3rd or 4th grade, it was very uncomfortable, and sometimes it downright hurt until I was bawling. Now granted, I have a TINY mouth opening and there was a lot of stretching that had to happen (follwowed by and additional 8 years of orthodontics....) but I don't remember it affecting my speech too much. Hope all goes well and it comes out quickly!

[teelee]

Thanks ladies! I guess it is called an expander because it's making his mouth wider. It's been such a busy few days that my brain just couldn't think of the word. I was also concerned about him being too young but the dentist insisted he does this all the time. The good thing is the monthly visits to check it out and adjust will be included in the final price we pay which is quite a good amount but they'll let me make a payment plan. I've known his mouth is weirdly shaped since he started getting teeth and the pediatrician looked in his mouth. She thought he would need braces then and he will.

I've been explaining to baby DS about it. The dentist said he would have to eat soft foods for a few days to get used to it. So I told him we could get some krispy kreme plain doughnuts as a treat. He's was excited about that!

[ChamomileFriend]

I never had an expander but from 4th to 8th grade I did have a night guard to move my molars back, then braces, and then a positioner, so there were lots of sore mouth days. I ate lots of soup (my favs were split pea with ham and sirloin burger as a kid) and ice cream or frozen yogurt, too, bec it helped with the pain and was easy to eat. Tara made some great soft food suggestions, also. I don't know why I didn't eat more yogurt as a kid bec I love greek yogurt now. Oh and smoothies or milkshakes would be good if he likes those.

Is he supposed to wear it all the time, only at night, or for a few hrs each day? I hope the adjustments are very, very gradual and that the transition goes easily for him.

[teelee]

Originally Posted by ChamomileFriend

Is he supposed to wear it all the time, only at night, or for a few hrs each day? I hope the adjustments are very, very gradual and that the transition goes easily for him.

Thanks to all you ladies for the food suggestions and words of encouragement!

He will wear it all the time. DH and I have never had that much trouble with our teeth so this is all new to us. I wasn't born with wisdom teeth so my teeth were all able to fit in my mouth. I didn't have a cavity until 25 and that's been my only one. DH had one wisdom tooth removed but that's it. He's had a few cavities but not in many years. Neither one of us had braces.

Wow Christine! You had a lot happen to your teeth.

[Gracy47]

it is good having a expander or a bracer when your children is young because someday it will give benefits to your child...