How to Get a Great Smile

Posted on: 7 July 2017

Modern human beings have smaller faces and narrower dental arches than their ancestors, according to research. This is due to modern day food being softer. Unfortunately, narrow dental arches lead to overcrowding, impacted teeth, and overly large buccal corridors which results in a less than pleasing smile. To combat this, dentists rely on palatal expanders to help widen dental arches and thus make more room available for teeth. Smaller buccal corridors; the dark spaces between the cheeks and teeth, are considered to be more attractive so palatal expanders are an essential orthodontic appliance.

Speaking and Eating Will Be Difficult at First

During treatment, which averages from 4 to 6 months, patients may find it more difficult to eat and speak normally. While this can interfere with your life, especially if your job or education requires you to speak in public, with the right practice, you should be able to eat and speak more comfortably within a week or two.

If you currently have a palatal expander and are concerned about your ability to eat and speak, use the following tips to help you better adjust to your new appliance.

Practice Speaking More Slowly

At first, you will struggle to speak clearly due to excess saliva and having a foreign object in your mouth. Patience is essential here. Practice speaking slowly and clearly and train your tongue to rest in a suitable position when trying to pronounce words and letters. Just like a child learning to speak, your tongue will need to adjust, but this will take lots of practice.

Read and Sing Aloud When You're Alone

Spend the first few days reading and singing aloud in the comfort of your home. Sing and read a range of material. This will allow you to gradually identify problem areas in your pronunciation allowing you to put more focus on them.

Make a Habit of Repeating Tongue Twisters

Tongue twisters are a great way to develop language skills for foreign speakers and those wearing palatal expanders. Again, just like a foreign speaker of a new language, your tongue must learn new locations for each sound.

Use Orthodontic Wax to Protect Your Tongue

At first, your tongue may feel sore from constantly rubbing on your expander. This will also affect your speech. Use orthodontic wax to give your tongue a break. A swollen and sore tongue is not something you need while adjusting to an expander.

Use a Waterpik Or Needleless Syringe After Eating

You will also find that food becomes lodged on and under your expander. This is frustrating but easily manageable with a waterpik or needleless syringe. At first, you will find yourself washing food out from under your expander more often than you'd like, however, in time, you'll learn to eat in such a way that food goes where it should—more often than not.

Cut Your Food into Small Pieces Before Eating

Start by cutting your food into small chunks before placing it in your mouth. Spaghetti or noodles should also be cut into smaller pieces. This will prevent you from choking or gagging while trying to swallow. Sip water and gently cock your head back to help you more easily swallow food.

Stick to Soups and Mashed Potato for 1-3 Days

For the first 1-3 days, you won't be able to adequately feel the roof of your mouth. This will make it difficult to swallow food, and even saliva. Until you adjust, stick to liquid foods like mash and gravy or soups. Gradually progress to more solid foods and eating will eventually return to normal.

While it can be extremely frustrating at first, keep practicing. In those moments when you feel like you might want to stop your treatment, just imagine how your smile will look when your expander is removed. Contact a family dentist for more information.