Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi all. I am starting my brace journey (33 yrs old) in a few weeks. My ortho has installed this appliance in my upper teeth, but I'm not quite sure what it's purpose is? Is anyone familiar with it? It went on without any drama, and I haven't felt any pressure, so I don't believe it is moving any of my teeth. The ortho said it would be on for about 6 months, and she wanted me to have it for 4 wks before installing brackets & wires.

Any idea what it is for??

That's a Trans-Palatal Arch. It can provide some mild arch expansion, or hold the arch open if there are going to be some other forces exerted by your braces that might otherwise try to narrow it. It's not going to provide as much expansion as an actual Rapid Palatal Expander would, but I assume your ortho has her reasons for not using one.

Thanks for the info. Curious why they want to wait 4 weeks for the brackets to go on... Maybe it is doing some small adjustment.

You can always ask the purpose for an appliance or why your ortho is performing a particular procedure. He/she should be glad to explain it to you.

Some form of torture.