A member asked:
my son is seven years old and he has night grinding. he got his palatal expanders. now the teeth are off occlusion, especially permanent molars. i am worried. what should i do?
4 doctor answers • 10 doctors weighed in
Dr. Dominick Curalli answered
Dentistry 20 years experience
Don't worry: Plenty of kids grind at night. They usually outgrow it. Wear on the baby teeth is less alarming since they will fall out when the permanent ones come in. With a palatal expander, the occlusion will change and hopefully improve. If they don't, then the expander is not working. Sounds like you may want to talk to your sons orthodontist to get a better idea of what to expect from treatment.
5438 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Meng Syn answered
Dentistry 38 years experience
Dont worry yet: The purpose of a palatal expander is to create more room to move teeth to their proper positions. Once the space is created, the orthodontist will put wires on the teeth to ensure that they move to the correct occlusion--especially the permanent molars. The jaws on a 7 year old is expanding and still growing. Permanent molars are the size they are going to be 20 years from now.
5438 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Matthew Teich answered
Cosmetic Dentistry 34 years experience
Don't worry: Grinding in children is normal. Often when using palatial expander a the teeth won't line up. It will be addressed in the next phase of treatment.
5210 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Sandra Eleczko commented
Dentistry 36 years experience
If your son snores then you should have tonsils and adenoids evaluated by doctor
Oct 1, 2013
Dr. Arnold Malerman answered
Orthodontics 53 years experience
Don't worry: He's a work in progress. For successful correction of side-to-side problems expansion is quite common, and often slight over-expansion is accomplished because there is some snap-back tendency. Please discuss your concerns with your qualified pediatric dental specialist or qualified orthodontic specialist to check this for you.
4906 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
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Last updated Apr 19, 2017
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