Is my palatal expander causing me to have nerve damage as I now have pain when I bite whereas I didn't before?

Question

36 year old female. Non surgical palatal expander put in 4 weeks ago. Tried biting softer foods, but there's pain now where there wasn't before. Molars feel loose. I'm concerned that the tipping of these teeth are causing nerve damage. I get braces in a week where I will continue to have the expander in. I'm terrified that this will cause more problems in the future.

Robert Waxler, DMD, MS · Answer

palatal expanders work on kids because the upper jaw is really two bones that are connected by a suture down the middle.  Putting a force on the opposite sides separates the bones and new bone fills in.  At a certain age (sometime in the teens) the bones become permanently fused...the only expansion that happens after this time is just moving teeth  through the bone...I would get a second opinion asap,

Is my palatal expander causing me to have nerve damage as I now have pain when I bite whereas I didn't before?

Answers (1)