A Patient's View Into Orthodontic Expanders!!
(Miscellaneous)
Hey Guys!! I hope everyone had a fabulous week, last week! On the other hand, my week was eventful...hahaha :)
Last week, I got my palatal expanders put in. It wasn't my favorite experience, but it wasn't as bad as I'd expected. So from my research a palatal expander is an orthodontic appliance that widens your upper jaw. For instance, my upper jaw is narrower than my lower jaw, so it doesn't fit the picture-perfect "puzzle" that the human teeth are supposed to embody. Allow me to digress, the internet describes this picture-perfect image of human teeth as "healthy, straight, and aligned." My teeth aren't aligned, and scientific studies have proven that the current human's teeth are much narrower than are ancestors. Research and archeologists have found that our ancestors had the same dental problems we had. However, as our earlier ancestors were hunter-gathers and lived in those societies, their basic lifestyle was constantly evolving. Which meant their change in jaw size was linked to lifestyle behaviors.
How the Evolution of the Jaw Began:
Fast forward, to the age of our former farming cultures. On farms, food became easier to chew and eat because, now humans weren't relying on nature itself, they were also producing their own produce and crops. So with these farming cultures the jaw size was shown to significantly have dropped. But the farming culture is when more problems began. When the human jaw shrank it lead to more dental malocclusions; put simply, crooked teeth. Fast forward to the 20th century and maybe a little more time before it, humans have made food more and more processed and softer. With these innovations in food, there has become a rapid increase in crooked teeth, smaller jaws, decreased space for additional teeth like wisdom teeth. All of these conditions can lead to worsened symptoms with age or associated health conditions. Wikipedia lists these conditions as sleep apnea, decreased respiratory fitness, and constricted airways. Hence, the birth of orthodontics; where medical professionals have been making observations and documentations in diet, lifestyle, and breathing patterns.
GenZ + Society's Use of Technology...is involved????
Normally this is where I'd end my tangent, but I came across a whole new piece of information. So allow me to elaborate; more specifically, allow me to elaborate on breathing patterns. As a GenZ I'm constantly tired of hearing people say, "This generation spends way too much time inside or using their electronics." That may be true but another truth is; our society is evolving as a WHOLE, which means MANY DEMOGRAPHICS will start using more technology and the rise in artificial intelligence is just proof of that.
However, our society's habit to stay indoors has been linked to orthodontics. According to Wikipedia, large numbers of orthodontic patients primarily breath through their oral cavity. An oral cavity is just another name for the mouth. This is because the mouth is covered by the lips and cheeks (on the outside) and the tongue on the inside; basic human anatomy. Moreover, like most of our English words the name just comes from its Latin meaning. Therefore, it's called the oral cavity otherwise known as the buccal cavity because in Latin bucca means cheek.
Anyways, back to my tangent about breathing patterns and orthodontics. Many orthodontic patients breath through their mouth, this is habit formed in childhood and is caused by obstructed nasal airways when one is young. Our modern society has spent more time indoors, exposing us to a higher concentration of allergens. Allergens accumulate to higher concentrations indoors. For an example, I'm allergic to dust mites. Dust accumulates on surfaces indoors without the filter of the outdoor world, and dust mites are invisible mites that come along with the dust. My body doesn't have immunity to these dust mites; hence the allergy.
Allergies????
Here's a more in-depth understanding; allergies occur when your immune system reacts to foreign substances. Usually, your immune system produces proteins known as antibodies that protect you from pathogens (i.e-viruses) that can cause an infection or sickness. For this reason, when we're younger we tend to get sicker more often, because our immune system is still learning how to attack these unwanted pathogens. When you have allergies your immune systems makes antibodies against a particular allergen that your immune system states as harmful, even though it isn't. Back to my dust mite example, my immune system declared that allergen as harmful. So whenever, I come into contact with that allergen, my immune system creates a inflammatory response in my nasal passage ways. It works the same for everyone with allergies. That was a whole new tangent, but I find it interesting that our ancestors, use of technology, allergies, and the way our teeth are formed are connected. Our body is a machine and all these parts need to work together.
Breathing Patterns/GenZ + Society's Technology Uses:
Back to my previous tangent [breathing patterns -> affecting orthodontics], as a result children are experiencing allergies at much more significant rates than our ancestors. Our ancestors were exposed to the outdoor worlds and were surrounded by allergens, allowing them to have a stronger immunity than the modern human. This chronic mouth breathing caused by allergies has lead to congested nasal airways that are forcing them to breathe through the mouth more often. This has lead to posterior-jaw positioning and crooked teeth, impacting jaw development negatively. Additionally, the changes in the jaw constrict airways, leading less room for the tongue to rest, leading to high rates of obstructive sleep apnea. According to SleepQuest; risks of sleep apnea do include serious medical conditions like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and early death. Whereas nasal breathing helps humidify air around us making it easier for the lungs and filters out debris and dust. Additionally, nasal breathing has promotes slower breathing rates which improve health and longevity.
Moral of the Story:
1) Get Outdoors MORE!
2) Breath through your nose!
Btw-Here were my Wikipedia sources for my digressions and tangents...haha:
1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_jaw_shrinkage
3) https://www.sleepquest.com/untreated-sleep-apnea-what-are-the-serious-consequences/
Now that I've finally left all my tangents and digressions behind; we can finally talk about the patient thoughts. I'm not going to provide the most details on putting the expanders in, as I was given local anesthesia so I couldn't really feel much pain, if any. Second, I'm not going to talk about the dental aspect of it as I'm sure there are multiple links and websites that orthodontics have put up to explain the procedure to their patients. I, myself saw a bunch of videos and read a lot of articles about expanders before getting them put in. They were reassuring and definitely informative, so if you'd like those links, please feel free to contact me!
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.Now...On to the Part: All About A Patient's Perspective on Expanders!~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
Putting in the Expanders:
So for me, before I got my expanders in I was given rubber bands as spacers. The process of putting in spacers takes ten minutes, tops. It's literally just fitting these rubber bands in between your teeth. The pain level on a scale of 1-to-10 was a 1. It felt like flossing a bit too hard, so it wasn't that bad. The spacers were there to create space between some of my back teeth. This way, when I take off the spacers there'll be space (hence the name) to put in the expanders. When I got to my expanders appointment, my orthodontist took the spacers out of my teeth and checked to see if the expanders would fit. I'm not sure what exactly she did, but I got some injections for local anesthesia and she put it in. The whole thing took about forty-five minutes. For me, the only thing that hurt were the injections. But pain, is different for every person, my experience will likely have some differences than others. Before, I continue I'd like to say that not many people need injections; so don't worry about the injections. If you need injections your dentist will likely put them on the roof of your mouth, so chance are; you'll barely feel them. They'll just be little pokes and maybe a little pinch, but it's nothing to worry about.
The Aftermath of the Expanders:
Right after the expanders were in my orthodontist went over the do's and don'ts for expanders. The list is short and simple...my favorite!
Do:
1) Every night for fourteen days; have a parent help you screw your expanders. You'll be using a special key (usually provided by orthodontist) to turn the expanders every night.
Why --->>>This will ensure that your jaw expands [hence the name] and a new bone form to allow for more space.
How --->>>Make sure to place the key in the hole at the center of the expanders, but not too far in; otherwise the plan will backfire. Then turn the key down (clockwise) until you see a new hole appear for the next day of turning. Remove the key by pushing down and then back up until the key is loose. This is obvious, but I'll mention it anyways; lying down is probably the easiest way to do this.
2) Eat soft foods.
Personal Advice/Note --->>> I personally found it easier to consume soup, juice, and ice cream for the first two days. After that eating pasta or pudding was easiest. If you try any other foods, I found breaking them into smaller bits to be easier. I like to think of it as being a baby again. When you're a baby you're teething (paiinnnnnn!!!) and you have to eat mushy foods like bananas. The same thing with orthodontic appliances, soft food that'll be easy to consume and wash out.
3) Brush all parts of your expanders; this one is pretty self explanatory :)
- If it's not; feel free to contact me in the comments; below!
Don't:
1) Note--->>>This is a personal don't: After I ate and constantly washed my mouth, I would use my tongue to make sure that all pieces of my expanders were there. However, DON'T DO THIS!! After a while, my tongue suffered tiny cuts because of the mini screws and metal on the expanders. It wasn't painful but it was irritating and if I had any spicy food, it would get irritated.
2) Don't eat hard foods! Once, I had the smallest portion of a hard food, and I could feel it against my expanders. It wasn't great and since it's hard to chew your food properly, it's very easy to choke on hard foods.
Special Tips:
1) It's gonna hurt after you tighten it for the first nights. Some times I'd put an icepack against my cheek and lie down. I also got a headache the first day and really wanted to rip the expanders out...hahaa! So to fix this, I took a little nap and it distracted me. Major distractions or things that require a lot of focus can help take your mind off the pain. For example, I cooked dinner a few days after I got my expanders tightened, and I was so focused on perfecting the recipe, that I didn't focus on the pain.
2) Turning the expanders don't really hurt; but you can feel it. I would suggest small sips of water.
3) Always eat in smaller portions, because you can't chew as great as you normally would. Eating in smaller portions is a safe bet and will keep you safe from choking. This also includes liquids, so have small sips.
4) Before turning your expanders, you NEED to brush the appliance! I would brush first, then floss, and finally rinse your mouth really good at least TWENTY times. This is important because you can't reach all parts of your teeth with your floss due to expanders, rinsing your mouth will keep from bacteria forming on any loose bits of food around.
5) Always wash the key for turning the expander before and after uses.
6) It's gonna feel weird; your expanders will basically feel like a substitute for the roof of your mouth, while eating. It will take time getting used to the expanders and your mouth will generate A LOT of saliva. A lot of saliva leads to a lisp. So a couple days after you get your expanders in, or once you feel ready to start talking again. I'd recommend reading a book aloud in a safe space, and annunciating.
7) Some people experience headaches; taking Tylenol or Advil as recommended will be helpful!
And that's my lucky seven tips! :)
Comment below or contact me privately; on your favorite part of this week's post. It could be tips, the history, or the science behind allergens! My favorite was writing this piece, and my favorite tip was Tip #6; so be sure to check out everything!
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