He has always had spaces between his teeth. I thought for sure he would not need orthodontics but rather Chase would because his teeth have always been so close together. I was surely wrong!! The reason he needs orthodontics really isn't related to his teeth but rather to his skeletal form. He has a flat mid-face. His skeletal growth is pitched to have him grow into an underbite. So they are trying to pull his upper jaw forward to keeps things even.
So the first thing they started with is a palatal expander. I had my palate split years ago as well but I had a removable retainer. I didn't have to eat with it on (but that's why I threw it away on my cafeteria tray the first day I got it, did find it in the trash though). MacGregor's is cemented in. He got it one week before we left on vacation and had to turn it (expand it) 10 times. He was soo miserable, couldn't eat a thing.
Luckily, a day or two after the last turn, his mouth began to feel less sore and he learned how to chew and swallow with that big piece of metal suspended in his palate.
But wouldn't you know it? A few days after returning from vacation he had another appointment with the orthodontist. He said everything looked great and the expander was doing exactly what it should be doing - expanding. BUT because MacGregor has always had spaces between his teeth, and the expander was pulling things farther apart, his front teeth were being pulled wider and wider apart. SO he put braces on to pull the front teeth back together. He has pressure being exerted in BOTH directions in his poor little mouth.
Silly Kid
The great thing is - once they move the top jaw forward - MacGregor may not need "the whole full set of braces for 2 years" thing because his teeth are fairly straight and have lots of space for those big teeth to come in. Chase on the other hand is looking at 2 or more years of the full set of braces when all his big teeth finish coming in.
3 comments:
I had the same expansion thingy. Ugh, I remember it hurting so much. It made me have a huge gap in my front teeth for a while too. My front teeth were on the left side of my mouth so they tried to expand my palate and push one tooth over (to the right) at a time with big springs. I feel for you MacGregor!!
Some of us older heavier people could benefit from that contraption. It surely would prove to be good for dieting. ): Poor little guy and he doesn't even complain much. I love you MacGregor. Mamaw
I LOVE the last picture. Gregor is so handsome to me. Handsome and such a sweet, kind kid.
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