My DD is going to have overcrowding and the orthodonist is recommending a pallet expander. I am concerned about diction for auditions and her singing voice. She is five. I am told to prevent the overcrowding, make the room for the teeth now, and if need be, invisaline down the road when she is old enough for braces. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this? Help!!!

I'm surprised they are suggesting an expanded at such a young age? Has she lost all of top 4 teeth and have the big ones grown in yet?

My 8 year old Has top and bottom expanders. I will say that it did affect her diction for a few weeks but it is much better now. She still sounds better without the top one in but that one is removable. The bottom one is not but doesn't affect diction.

Hope that helps!

My dd has one too and she has been in her plays....when she got it she had a lead in The Wizard Of Oz...she did fine. It's weird getting use to it but it takes just a few weeks. She also landed a Barbie commercial with it in...doesn't matter...LOL. But she was singing in the plays! Anyhow, it's young but better in the long run! GL ...have a great night!

She actually only lost one bottom tooth, but it was the size of two baby teeth so I got worried and brought her in. He won't do anything until her 6 year old molars come in, which will be soon. However, I am really worried about her singing. Nictim7 you gave me some hope! Thanks! Daddysgirl, I have a choice, it can be permanant or removable. She needs it on both top and bottom for at least a year. Why is one removable and the other not?

BeHappy,

I am not actually sure why my is removeable and the is not? LOL! They are different expanders because the one on top is also encouraging her lower jaw to grow faster (upper jaw was growing and lower jaw wasnt). So the upper one looks like a retainer whereas the lower one is a wire that goes around the teeth and is attached to back molars.
Waiting until her big molars come in definitely makes more sense. My DD also had the same problem with spacing her baby teeth came out but each big tooth was the size of two small teeth! She had to have three extractions on bottom as well as the expanders!
There may be a few weeks where she has to get used to it but once she is there isn't too much of a difference. (Although I can still hear it a litte).
I will say that I wish my oldest had the non removeable top one because she constantly pops it in and out, she has lost it in a napkin in the trash once, and she has broken it twice! I think it would work faster if it was not removeable! I would ask if one will speed up the process faster?

My oldest daughter had an expander for almost a year. It effected her speech the first couple weeks but after that she spoke perfectly.

My DS had one when he was 6 and it was removable, he had to wear it all of the time for a couple months then only at night. He is 11 now and I am so thankful we did it then because now he has perfectly straight teeth and we just got news from the Orthodontist that he won't need any more work, so no braces at all.

If you get the removable one she could take it out for auditions and any singing. The biggest thing is the chance for it to be lost when it is taken out. Good Luck

I had one (almost 20 years ago) and while it did change my speech for a few weeks I am SO thankful I had it. My teeth are still perfect and there is no way they would be like this if I hadn't had the expander. I was a theater kid too and it never impacted my auditions/roles. There wasn't a removable option back then, but if your ortho will offer it perhaps that's best....but I agree with actnkidz, the fear of losing it may be a big issue. I'm also a teacher and I see a lot of kids with them very young now. They all adjust to the speech change rather quickly.

The whole thing stresses me out! Daddysgirl, my dd also has the adult teeth that are the size of two baby teeth, hat is why I brought her so young! There is also something called serial extractiion, which is also an option, but then she will need spacers and that won't solve the speech problem. Thanks all for your experiences!

Be careful..get a secnd opinion it could save you both time and money there are 2 groups of ortho's out there today.Group 1 treats very young kids in a "first phase" and the same child when older in a "second phase"..This is costly and time consuming and not generally covered and not the only way to go.As an older ortho told me.."why sell you a new car..when a less expensive older one will do and get you to the same destination.." I guess these phase I and II plans help pay for the mercedes in the parking lot..summer home etc..Then there is the second group of ortho..who believes kids should only have to wear braces once and parents only pay once for the experience..this group tends to be older and more established..they deal with crowding the old fashioned way which incidentally is covered under most medical plans..if appropriate the visit involves the referral to an oral surgeon who will reomve the offending baby teeth and your child gets braces around 12-14 if they are still needed once te over crowding issue has been resolved..

Will the expander change the shape of her face? Also will it affect the echo and resonance of her voice permenantly?

They have removable expanders but you have to make sure your child is compliant with wearing and responsible not to loose it. I am a fan of the newer approach of phase 1 and 2 if there is a growth or crowding issue. It will help encourage growth of the jaw and ensure greater stability in the future. Waiting too late may lead to having to pull adult teeth. Moving teeth later with braces in a jaw too small is more unstable and the teeth will be more likely to shift without permanent retainers. In my opinion it is better enhance the growth now while they are still growing.

Thanks momto2kids. What you say makes sense. I just want to do the right thing for my DD. Since she models and sings, I want as many opinions as I can get. And if I can avoid problems later on, then maybe an expander is the way to go.

Way back when I had to get my teeth fixed my first ortho gave me a night brace thinking it would stretch my mouth. It was not working. I went to a new ortho and he immediately said I needed 4 teeth pulled and a stretcher would never ever work. I got them pulled, had braces and there wasn't a space to be seen. How the first ortho thought that would work is beyond me. So glad I switched. They have such updated things these days it's great. If you have perfect baby teeth unfortunately you will probably need space for the new teeth. I'm dreading dd losing her teeth. We'll deal though.