Trans-Palatal Arch?

[joeyyeo]

So, I had my molar bands fitted today, and I was really excited about getting those annoying spacers out! To my dismay, only the bottom ones got replaced by bands ): apparently my top jaw will have a TPA and they took impressions (urgh) to get it done which would be fitted next week! After some googling, I found out what it was and I'm kind of worried, to be honest. Will it affect my speech? Does anyone here have first hand experience that they won't mind sharing?

[katsface]

I have not had a TPA but I may get one at some point, so I've done a bit of reading about them. It will replace my hyrax expander to hold my palate in place while my bone heals (I just had SARPE surgery to widen my palate...)

The hyrax has been extremely intrusive, making it difficult to swallow, talk, chew, etc. There is a lot of room between the expander and the roof of my mouth (I have a high arch and it wouldn't fit any closer to the roof).

From what I've read, even people who don't mind their hyrax expanders that much, really like having the TPA once they switch. It's supposed to fit very close to the roof of your mouth, and be much less intrusive.

I'm guessing anything you put in your mouth can affect your speech, but I don't think a TPA is supposed to be that bad. You can see in this video that it's not a large device, and it fits very close to the roof of the mouth. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhTwIDMx_3U

But, I think ANYTHING would be better than the hyrax at this point . Maybe if you don't have a worse experience to compare it to, the TPA may seem bad? I don't know. Maybe someone who has a TPA will chime in.

[2XRound]

I had something that looks like a TPA put in my mouth as a teen. I hated it. And yes it did impact my speech for a good while. This is the worst part of orthodontia; braces are a breeze but these appliances are bad news. Hopefully you won't have to wear it too long. As for Katsface's hyrax all I can say is you have my sympathy that device sounds pretty disagreeable. Hope you get it out soon.

[joeyyeo]

Katsface: aww you poor thing! I hope you get used to it soon so you don't find it so much of a nuisance!
2xround: I hope mine won't be so bad... I might have fun creating u-shaped imprints on my tongue with the wire though (:

[LadyJennifer]

What is a TPA? I don't think I have a TPA, but I have a fixed palatal expander and yes, I talked really strange at first. It was so embarrassing! I'm nearing two weeks of having it in and my speech is much clearer, but eating is still difficult, and cleaning the food from above it is so annoying! If it weren't for my waterpik I'm sure I'd have mold up there by now. Yuck

[katsface]

Katsface: aww you poor thing! I hope you get used to it soon so you don't find it so much of a nuisance!
2xround: I hope mine won't be so bad... I might have fun creating u-shaped imprints on my tongue with the wire though (:

Haha, Thank you! But it's been in for almost 2 months, and I don't think I'm going to get any more used to it at this point.

[joeyyeo]

Jennifer: this is a TPA: http://dinnerorthodontics.com/assets/im ... _small.jpg

An expander is meant to create space, but the TPA is just to ensure the molars don't move into my extraction sites.

Katsface: aww ): then just think about how pretty your teeth will look when you're done !

[katsface]

Jennifer: this is a TPA: http://dinnerorthodontics.com/assets/im ... _small.jpg

An expander is meant to create space, but the TPA is just to ensure the molars don't move into my extraction sites.

Katsface: aww ): then just think about how pretty your teeth will look when you're done !

I think about that all the time! I stuck some dental wax in my huge gap and stood far away from the mirror the other day, with a big smile, trying to imagine what it would look like when it's all done

Plus, hopefully I won't have monster headaches anymore, and it will prevent further jaw joint degeneration. I don't mean to be wine about it . I was mostly trying to point out that a TPA might be uncomfortable, but it could be worse

[joeyyeo]

Jennifer: this is a TPA: http://dinnerorthodontics.com/assets/im ... _small.jpg

An expander is meant to create space, but the TPA is just to ensure the molars don't move into my extraction sites.

Katsface: aww ): then just think about how pretty your teeth will look when you're done !

I think about that all the time! I stuck some dental wax in my huge gap and stood far away from the mirror the other day, with a big smile, trying to imagine what it would look like when it's all done

Plus, hopefully I won't have monster headaches anymore, and it will prevent further jaw joint degeneration. I don't mean to be wine about it . I was mostly trying to point out that a TPA might be uncomfortable, but it could be worse

I wonder what's the WORST orthodontic appliance there is. I'm sure everybody has differing opinions, but won't it be interesting to see all the torture devices ever created?

[katsface]

From a social standpoint... maybe reverse pull headgear? The Herbst appliance looks pretty scary too.

After my ortho put the expander in he said "I bet you can't wait for the head gear, right?" and it took me a second to figure out he was kidding. I know he's trying to keep it light and funny, but I could have hit him. It's bad enough that I actually do have to have a lower expander installed in a few weeks (because I really need more stuff in my mouth ) so I was thinking, don't toy with my emotions, Doc!

I guess I'll let you know what I think at the end of my treatment once I go through all of my splints, elastics, etc.

[owira]

I have a tpa plus a nance button .. its taking some getting used to and i lisp a little bit. its been about a week and a half so far. food gets trapped around, above, under, beside, below... you get the picture. on the upside I eat alot slower.. and alot less too lol but its getting better. on the downside my husband told me this morning i sound like darth vader in my sleep from the extra salava lol good luck and nothing is so bad that it isn't worth the results so far!

[joeyyeo]

Kat: oh yeah headgear... Forgot about that. But luckily those people can remove it and they are only required to wear them at night so it's only half as bad... Sounds like your ortho is a funny guy I would've punched mine if she told me I had to wear headgear! All the best with your treatment and always keep the end result in mind to know that everything is worth it!

Owira: it's possible to have both the TPA and nance at once? Never knew that... I already eat as slow as a human can possibly get, so I think it'll be funny to see how slow I can actually go. As for the plus side, we get to lose weight! Yippee!

[rawr101]

I had one recently put on...it surprisingly did not effect my speech. I was worried about a lisp for weeks leading up to it. I dont know if that means I'm not talking properly to where it should effect my speech or what..The biggest problem was it made my tongue raw for the first few weeks. Even now there is an imprint on my tongue it almost looks like the TPA branded a curve into my taste buds lol. But now I hardly notice it.

[joeyyeo]

I had one recently put on...it surprisingly did not effect my speech. I was worried about a lisp for weeks leading up to it. I dont know if that means I'm not talking properly to where it should effect my speech or what..The biggest problem was it made my tongue raw for the first few weeks. Even now there is an imprint on my tongue it almost looks like the TPA branded a curve into my taste buds lol. But now I hardly notice it.

Oh that doesn't sound too bad (: looking forward to getting braced on Friday! Excited, really excited (: hope I'm not in too much pain with the movement and ulcers and stuff.