June 28, 2017
I didn't sleep well at all. Woke up several times, due to not being used to this expander in my mouth. I opted to stay home from work. When I speak, my words slur. It is very difficult to talk and frustrating. They had informed me that I had to be on a soft diet for awhile until I get used to the new reality of my mouth. Nobody really prepares you for what it feels like. I want to rip this expander out of my mouth. It literally feels like the top of your mouth is protruding way out from the bottom of your mouth. I tried eating soup for lunch and the noodles kept getting stuck everywhere, in the tongue guard and on the expander. It feels so weird to have food stuck up in there. For dinner, I opted for a homemade shake. It was much easier to drink than it was to eat anything. I had tried mashed potatoes for dinner yesterday when I came home from the ortho. I probably won't do that again because the potatoes were hot and the metal in my mouth gets hot quicker from the heat. So yeah I didn't seriously burn myself but I did a little bit. So when I made the soup, I made sure to make it warm instead of hot so it would be easier to eat.
I have been brushing everytime I eat something. It's not too terrible, but oh my god, those floss threaders are a nightmare. I just can't get the teeth in the back. It took me over 30 minutes to floss and I still wasn't getting all of them. So I placed an emergency order on Amazon for a flossing tool that will make it easier. It will be here in two days. Check out my Supplies page for things that make my life easier with braces and palatal expander. I will list things that I use and recommend.
At the end of the day, it was finally time to turn the palatal expander one time. I tried for over a half hour and could not find the hole to put the key because I could not see the roof of my mouth with the tongue guard in the way. So I was able to obtain assistance from a coworker. Once I was able to turn it and feel it moving against my palate to stretch it, I could for sure feel it!! Thank god I took some Aleve prior to attempting that. I was still in pain for a couple of hours after that.
Everyone I have talked to, none of them have experience with an expander. So I feel like everyone telling me that it won't be a big deal, etc really doesn't know what I am experiencing. I'm the one dealing with it, not them. I'm the one who tries to eat and the expander blocks your food so you have to scoot it around carefully. Sounds like no big deal but it is way different than just braces alone. You can't eat normally. It's hard to swallow. It's hard to talk. I'm the one dealing with the pain of having my palate stretched to godknowswhat. I'm the one who has to have my gums CUT OPEN and teeth exposed so they can bracket them and bring them down. None of them have experienced that. I'm doing this blog not to complain, but to give someone else who may be looking for personal experiences with the exact same situation as me a way to understand what I am going through because I couldn't find that.
As far as the palatal expander, I was told I have to wear it for 6-8 months. I don't think it means it will continually be stretched further and further. Once I get to the expansion level that the ortho wants, then my understanding is that there will be no more cranking it and will just stay in the same position to hold it so it doesn't regress back to the size it used to be until they are ready to remove it. At that point, 6-10 months from now, I will go back to the perio for the dreaded surgical expose of the canines. My teeth are very sensitive right now from the braces. Just touching my teeth feels very very tender. I don't know how I will ever get used to this expander. It's a nightmare.
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