day 10, expander infomation...

hi guys,

Sorry I haven't posted in ages, school work has been insane!!!! But... Guess what?! I got my expander. I got my RPE 10days ago and turned it for the first time on Sunday. I'm going to tell you about the first day with it, pain, first turn and how I clean it.

Before I start there will be pictures as soon as I can get my camera working.

FIRST DAY WITH MY EXPANDER

So, I got my expander last Monday at around 1:30pm. They showed me how to turn it, how to remove it(yes I can take mine out), how to protect it(I bought a case for it) and told me I would have lisp. I got it in and didn't talk until I got into the car. Then I started gagging and had to keep spitting. It was horrible. It took around 3-4days to get used to an about 5minutes to stop gagging. Your lisp stops after around 4 days as well. I do produce more saliva and I can't pronounce certain words but apart from that it is fine.

PAIN

So the second day I had my expander in I started to feel lots of pressure as my orthodontist had turned it once before he let me go home. It wasn't like 'OMG THIS IS SO UNBEARABLE I'M GOING TO DIE' sort of pain. It was like 'THIS IS NOT VERY COMFY BUT I THINK I'LL SURVIVE' sort of pain. Paracetomol helped so much. And ice cream numbed the pain. Win-Win situation.

FIRST TURN

I turned my RPE for the first time on Sunday the 22nd September in the morning. My RPE has 4 small holes and I put the key in and turn it in the direction the arrows are pointing. And that's it. I have not felt any pressure since turning the RPE which is weird but at least I have no pain.

HOW I CLEAN MY RPE

My RPE has hooks that go around my molars and I pull them down and pop it out. I then clean my teeth and then once done I swish some mouthwash around my mouth. Whilst I swish, I take my soft bristled toothbrush which I use just for that.  I take toothpaste, place it on my toothbrush and clean the surface of the RPE, rinse  the RPE off, spit out the mouthwash and then I put it back in. Done and dusted.

So that is it. I hope this helped anyone getting an expander or people who have their expander. I will try to post a little bit more often now but its hard with all my homework. But I will try to post more now.

Bye guys.