Palatal Expanders

Burtonsville, MD

Setting the stage for long-term healthy and aligned smiles

At Bespoke Orthodontics, we are proponents of early intervention to guide proper jaw growth and development, laying the foundation for beautifully aligned smiles. We are pleased to offer palatal expanders to correct structural concerns, including crossbites, and create the needed space for proper tooth eruption or alignment. We tailor our treatments to address your child’s unique needs, ensuring the best possible outcomes.

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What Are Palatal Expanders?

Palatal expanders are orthodontic devices we use to expand the palate or roof of the mouth to create more space in the upper dental arch, taking advantage of the flexibility of the young skeletal structure. Palatal expansion helps accommodate incoming teeth, allowing them to grow into the proper alignment. Improving the width of a child’s jaw can also help correct teeth crowding, jaw abnormalities, as well as problems with the bite, including crossbites and underbites. Palatal expanders are sometimes used to prepare for headgear, ensuring optimal treatment outcomes.

When Is the Ideal Timing for Palatal Expanders?

The ideal time for treatment with palatal expanders is before the fusion of the midpalatal sutures, typically before age 13. The flexibility of the jaw structure in young patients allows for more effective and lasting skeletal changes. Expansion after this age, when the midpalatal sutures have fused, can still be attempted but may result more in dental movement (movement of the teeth only) rather than skeletal movement (movement of the bone), leading to less effective treatment outcomes.

What Are the Benefits of Palatal Expanders?

Palatal Expanders at a young age offer numerous benefits, including the following:

Correcting Crossbites: By widening the upper jaw, palatal expanders can align the upper and lower teeth, correcting crossbites.
Creating Space: Expanders create additional space in the upper jaw, relieving crowding and helping guide proper eruption of the permanent teeth.
Preventing Tooth Impaction: Creating the space needed for the permanent teeth to come in correctly helps lower the risk of impacted teeth.
Improving Breathing: Palatal expansion can help open up nasal passages, helping alleviate mouth breathing.
Facilitating Future Orthodontic Work: Palatal expansion at an early age can help reduce the need for extraction or more invasive orthodontic procedures down the road.

What Is the Palatal Expander Treatment Process?

The process begins with a comprehensive evaluation, during which Dr. Callahan will determine the ideal orthodontic solution to address your child’s unique needs. If a palatal expander is recommended, our experienced orthodontist will take a scan or impression to create a custom appliance that will fit on your child’s upper molars. You will get spacers one week before the expander will be placed.

When you report back, the appliance will be temporarily cemented to your child’s molars. We will show you how to use the key to turn the expander and let you know how many times to do the turns. You will need to schedule regular visits to evaluate the expansion and determine whether more turns are required. After achieving the desired expansion, we may recommend keeping the device in place for several months to stabilize the expansion and prevent relapse.