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Original poster

Palate expanders??

19 replies

Dingdongg · 18/11/2025 12:39

My daughter is 11 and due to a bilateral crossbite had been recommend a palate expander and then braces …

Just wondering if anyone’s kids have been through the same? Was it painful? Any regrets?

I’ve been advised that her remaining baby teeth will need to be extracted to speed up the growth of her adult teeth and then will be able to fit in… so perhaps in the next 6 months or so….

She’s got a very small jaw and I’m wondering whether the expander will be able to do much anyway as her jaw is genetically petite and narrow.

OP posts:
tinks3110 · 18/11/2025 14:47

Hi
I've no experience to add but watching this thread with interest. My daughter is 14 and due to have an expander fitted on 2nd December. We are all a bit apprehensive about it so hopefully someone will answer here

Twilightstarbright · 18/11/2025 17:25

My son had a palate expander aged 6. He did really well with it and made a big difference to his crossbite and underbite. We are now two years into Invisalign as the next step in treatment.

mindutopia · 18/11/2025 17:34

Oomph, I had one as a child and it was horrific. Sorry. 😬 Maybe it was my horrible orthodontist, but for me, it was incredibly painful. I think I lasted about a month and then they had to take it out. I also had to have a load of baby teeth extracted. I think it was something like 6 in one go, which probably did not help.

That doesn’t mean, don’t do it. But if it doesn’t work out, it’s also fine. I went on to have braces a couple years later without the palate expansion and my teeth look perfectly okay as an adult, no issues with my bite, jaw, etc. It all sorted itself out in the end.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Children's health Dental health General health
ProfessorDameOriginalHorticulturalGnu · 18/11/2025 17:50

I only have 20 adult teeth. DC1 had twin block hinged braces, DC2 got seen sooner and had a palate expander then ordinary train traces. It was much simpler.

ElementalFuture · 18/11/2025 17:58

My daughter had a palette expander. It was uncomfortable and quite unpleasant but only a small part of her Orthodontic treatment (in hindsight). It played a huge part in the transformation which has been amazing! She’s coming to the end of braces and her mouth/smile is stunning. Would definitely not hesitate to do it again.

Original poster
Dingdongg · 18/11/2025 20:04

ElementalFuture · 18/11/2025 17:58

My daughter had a palette expander. It was uncomfortable and quite unpleasant but only a small part of her Orthodontic treatment (in hindsight). It played a huge part in the transformation which has been amazing! She’s coming to the end of braces and her mouth/smile is stunning. Would definitely not hesitate to do it again.

Did it widen her jaw ?

OP posts:
Tygertiger · 18/11/2025 20:13

I had one on my upper teeth when I was ten and it was fine, I don’t remember much discomfort. That was to correct my bite but to do that they had to widen my upper jaw. Then I had fixed braces a few years later to correct the crookedness.

spicycats · 18/11/2025 20:15

I had one when I was a child. I remember it being a bit uncomfortable but nothing too bad.

TomatoSandwiches · 18/11/2025 20:17

DD13 is due to have one fitted in December as part of her orthodontic treatment, 4 teeth removed more time with the extender and then train tracks.
Apparently this is the new train of thinking and treatment.

Rollercoaster1920 · 18/11/2025 20:18

Our 11 year old had a Hyrax palate expander. They didn't really complain (just a bit!) and the results were amazing. The aim was to create space for front adult teeth to descend, which it did quite quickly. From memory it took a couple of months then the upper jaw was visibly wider.
The NHS dentist just wanted to remove adult teeth to make space. We went private to avoid this. It was a few thousand though (either 4k or 6k) for the full treatment including later upper and lower braces and retainers.

My 11 year old had a different need to yours (I've just googled what you said) but I would recommend the treatment from our experience.

BakedAl · 18/11/2025 20:21

My son had these and it did make a big difference. His top jaw was very narrow and he now has a much better mouth. It did affect his speech for a while and eating certain foods was difficult. I think it was worth it though. My mom has the same narrow top jaw so I can see it would have affected his looks as he got older.

tootiredtobeinspired · 18/11/2025 20:22

Both of mine had palate expanders. I think they were uncomfortable at times when they were activated (we had to widen them every week or so) but nothing too bad. This was followed by train tracks. They've both got lovely teeth now and as the expander made room it meant they kept all of their teeth.

ElementalFuture · 18/11/2025 20:41

Dingdongg · 18/11/2025 20:04

Did it widen her jaw ?

Show quote history

not her jaw but her palette (top teeth). It widened and made the bite more round rather than narrow and long. She had a massive overbite and a lot of crowding. That was folllwed by an appliance to push her lower jaw forward too. Not only is her smile improved but her profile is so much better.

fairlygoodmother · 18/11/2025 20:45

Both my children had them aged 7-8. I don’t think they had any extractions and still had most of their baby teeth.

As far as I remember they were uncomfortable occasionally and took some getting used to, there’s a lot of saliva production for the first few days. The main problem was losing them in restaurants. Try to avoid taking it out and wrapping it in a napkin…

Rosecoffeecup · 18/11/2025 21:19

I had twin blocks with a palate expander - was a bit uncomfortable after each key turn (once a week) but not too bad overall

DanceMumTaxi · 18/11/2025 21:51

My dd had one fitted at 8. She coped really well with it and it worked very quickly. She then had a fixed brace on her top row of teeth. Again she coped well and it worked quickly. She’s 10 now and she can’t have any more treatment until she’s lost all her baby teeth and her adult ones are in. I worried for her because she was young but it was honestly fine and it’s made a massive difference.

RandomMess · 18/11/2025 22:16

My DD had an upper jaw expander. Huge difference, eliminating underbite, stopped snoring and no more constant sore throat and regular tonsillitis.

she also saw a cranial osteopath a few times which really helped the expander work.

tinks3110 · 02/12/2025 13:28

My daughter has been today for her palate expander fitting. She's 14, it was not as bad as I expected, she can take it in and out herself and turn the key herself as well. She had a bit of a cry in the car on the way to school as was very worried about lisping when she talks but has just messaged me to say she's feeling loads better, it doesn't hurt and her lisp isn't that bad! Its a big relief!

She has to turn the key twice a week and they've said she'll have it for about 6 months.

Lynstar05 · 04/05/2026 15:14

ElementalFuture · 18/11/2025 17:58

My daughter had a palette expander. It was uncomfortable and quite unpleasant but only a small part of her Orthodontic treatment (in hindsight). It played a huge part in the transformation which has been amazing! She’s coming to the end of braces and her mouth/smile is stunning. Would definitely not hesitate to do it again.

@ElementalFuture can I ask what appliance it was? Also what clinic and professional did it for you and would you recommend?

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