Palatal Expanders

A palatal expander is an appliance fitted to the upper teeth that widens a narrow upper jaw a small amount at a time. Because the two halves of the upper jaw are still joined by a growth seam in childhood and early adolescence, widening it then is straightforward — which is why Dr. Aesha Chaudhry watches for it early at Crystal Clear Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry in Wilmington.

What It Corrects

Crossbite — where the upper teeth sit inside the lower ones instead of over them, usually because the upper jaw is too narrow.
Crowding — widening the arch can create room for teeth that would otherwise have nowhere to come in.
Blocked teeth — extra width can let a tooth erupt on its own that would otherwise have been trapped.

How Treatment Goes

The expander is adjusted in very small increments on a schedule set at the fitting, and then left in place while the new width becomes stable. Speech and eating feel different for the first few days and then settle.