Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi all, I have posted on and off a few times over the years and thought I would post an update now that my braces are off. My journey began nearly three years ago, at age 41, with palatal expansion and then braces to correct a Class II malocclusion, cross bite, deep bite, and excessive crowding. I w...

In the year since I was first expanded and braced, I noticed a significant change to my facial shape. Some orthodontists are in denial about these changes, telling patients that braces "move teeth, not bone." Or that they've aged or lost weight. Although my orthodontist never mentioned fac...

Ditto on the pizza. To eat the crust (which I love), I shove it in sideways to the very back of my mouth where I can actually chew. Another thing I can't stay away from are Vietnamese soft spring rolls. Unlike with sushi (which I've given up for the duration), I don't mind cutting those up in public...

Saw the show. Loved it. Hope it sticks around. Some observations: A. I don't find Betty ugly or chubby at all. In fact, I thought she was lit quite beautifuly in most of the shots and she has lovely skin and good bone structure. I also love the way she just lets loose with those huge, wide, braced u...

Hi there: I am a 42 year old female who underwent non-surgical palatal expansion starting in March of this year. I wore an RPE for six months. Talking was very difficult for about a month. Eating, I never got the hang of. Was miserable the entire time on that front and spent most of my free time cle...

I'll echo sjsarre's sentiments. First of all protein shakes are a waste of money. You can get the same benefits taking a daily multi-vitamin and eating some of the things the poster recommended: omelets and fish are great-tasting, nutritious and easy on the sore mouth. As are banana/fruit/yogurt smo...

Hi there: I am a 42 year old female who had an RPE (rapid palatal expander) in my top arch for six months. I was apparently a candidate for expansion without surgery – not every adult is though. It is generally believed that the top arch – which is actually two pieces of bone that meet in the mi...

I hear ya on fast forwarding. I spent six months in an expander that finally came out three weeks ago, only to be replaced by a mouth bow (!) and elastics. Yeah, buddy, this whole process is so much FUN!

Hang in there, flygirl, and remember: it's the destination, not the journey

Removeable expander? You mean they make such things?!?

What remarkable progress! Congrats – you must be really happy!

I have experienced the exact same thing as MCC – only I noticed my facial changes after about a month in an RPE. Haven't lost any weight, but my face is longer, thinner and my cheekbones stick out. I can really tell the difference in photographs and other people have noticed it as well. It is defi...

Congrats, samantha_lou! I've had my RPE in for a little over six weeks now. I had a tough time of it the first couple weeks, but now I'm used to it. Can even eat most foods, although I still have to go very slowly and take small bites. Talking is much better as well, although there are still a bunch...

Maybe. Maybe not. Lots of discussion about this on the forum. Search: palate expanders or check out this one discussion: http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=10472&highlight= And the following articles: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_...

Yes, it's very disconcerting! I don't have it during the day, but boy, if I stay awake too long before falling asleep, or wake up in the middle of the night, that's it. I have to really battle to ignore it and go to sleep. I've got a call into my ortho to see what she says. Of course, it's not on th...

Braces are nothing compared to spacers. And spacers are nothing compared to an expander!

So if you're outta those spacers by tomorrow and you don't have to have an expander, it should be smooth sailing for you.

Best of luck!

Hurray! You must be ecstatic! I can't wait until mine comes out, but I'm only about a third of the way through my sentence.

So how will you celebrate?