Metal Mouth Message Board

With the ALF I have gained the required space on the upper arch to replace the 2 extracted teeth, there are spaces of 1 - 2 mm between most of the teeth now (except the molars). In the final stage when I get the Damons for the last 6 months or so these spaces will be consolidated into one of 6 - 7 m...

50 now, started expansion at 49

Its a contentious issue. Some medical sources say the cranial bones are fused and no movement is possible. Others say the bones are in constant movement and can be developed. I am wearing an upper ALF appliance and it has widened my maxilla noticeably without tipping the teeth but it took a year and...

Why do some people with narrow misaligned jaws decide to have them surgically expanded instead of going the orthodontic route? Is it because there is a certain degree of deformation beyond which orthodontics isn't effective?
Thanks in advance for any feedback

I'm amost a year into ALF treatment now. The upper arch has widened so much that I now have a cross bite on the left side. If I try to chew on that side it's like trying to clap with one hand, the left side had collapsed inwards. Next stage will be expanding the lower arch to match and at the same t...

Eurodude or Tracey, did you notice widening of your nose since it's expanding along the suture? In my case, I wouldn't mind forward movement since it looks moved back with previous extraction treatment, but am a little concerned retreatment could widen the nose too much. Why did you choose to go wi...

I'm having a lot of mini wow moments. One big one is when I'm shaving I notice its getting much easier to shave above my lip because the premaxilla is expanding. I wearing an ALF appliance undoing the damage of extraction orthodontics earlier in life. Also noticing my cheekbones develop, fuller lips...

Hi, Eurodude, Tracey, Elaine, How much does your ALF treatment cost or what were you quoted? I also want to undo extraction treatment. Does the ALF just widen from the middle or can it move the front teeth forward, too? I paid €800 for the ALF up front and €150 for the adjustments every 6 weeks. Th...

I am an orthodontic retreatment case (if only I had known this phrase even existed back as a teenager), 4 pre-molars extracted, then bands and braces and rubber bands to pull everything back. Grew up, got on with my life but was always consious of my weak chin, accepted it as the way God made me. Li...

Go the expansion route. From my experience this is a no-brainer. I had 4 pre-molars extracted as a teenager and then braces. Roll forward 20 years and I slowly noticed the start of a whole bunch of seemingly bizarre and unrelated symptoms; mouth breathing, forward head posture, really worn down inci...

Hi Tracey I'm in Ireland as well and wearing an ALF since last November. A lot of movement already. I can floss easily between all my upper teeth and between some large clearly visible spaces have opened up. Also my breathing has improved - as the upper arch expands the tongue is adopting its proper...

I'm being fitted with an upper ALF appliance next Thursday. Because I had 4 bicuspids extracted for othodontics earlier in my life my dental arches are too narrow and my upper front teeth are retracted trapping my mandible too far back and damaging my TMJs I had my TMJ discs surgically repositioned ...

Functional appliances such as saggittal or transverse expanders can widen the upper dental arch right? So why then do people have the SARPE surgery? Is it because you get results quicker? I'm confused. I need my arches widened. Ortho has mentioned a Crozat or an ALF. He used the analogy of the tin b...

Can anybody relate to my story? As a teenager I had fixed brackets to straighten my teeth. 4 pre-molars were extracted beforehand and later on all 4 wisdom teeth. I freak now when I think I lost 8 good teeth. No dental problems for a good 20 years but then I slowly started to notice a whole cascade ...

How many people wound up with TMJ problems after having 4 pre-molars extracted for fixed braces as children? My upper front teeth were retracted causing my mandible to overclose damaging the TMJs. I have to start into orthodontic treatment next month to widen my dental arches by opening up the space...