I live near Boston and as many of you will know, this is a medical mecca.
My upper palette was narrow. I was told in no uncertain terms by multiple reputable intitutions and professioanls that palette expansion as an adult wasn't happening in any way reliable or methods they would entertain as a solution beyond surgery.
I think what the OP is suggesting is dangerous.
So, OP....good luck on your quest for improvement but I suggest you continue to consult with professionals and investigate your choices including the otion of living with what you have because if your case is too mild for surgery, then maybe you are more fine than you think you are. We are always our own worst critics.
PS. The thing that 27F is telling you about muscle shaping the face (and perhaps returning things to where they were) is very real so please consider her advice.
I do hope that I am my worst critic, so that I can always improve myself. I have consulted several professionals and their advice ranged from "this definitely will work (current ortho)", to "Your procedure is safe but I doubt you will get any results (author of the adult monkey headgear study)" to "there is no way this will work (researching orthodontist at a university)".I am being very careful with the whole process, but I can now say that I am at a stage where my appliance is safe, because it will not alter my bite in any way except if it actually manages to move my whole maxilla. If I get there, I will have to reconsider the safety issues.
My first appliances touched the teeth and expansion was painful and my teeth were sore because it was tooth movement and not bone movement. Now, I can wear the headgear for 8 hours with high forces and then start chewing hard gum immediately after and my teeth will not be sore at all.
Yes, this discussion is reinforcing my belief that muscle forces will always try to bring my facial bones back to their original position. This can also play in my favour because the tongue is quite a strong muscle and I can use it to bring my maxilla up and forwards.
Supposedly this works. What happens to the lower arch?
My lower arch is currently untouched, as I have a mild Class III skeletal relationship, meaning that my maxilla is smaller and further back than my mandibule. I must maintain my occlusion during the process and if I manage to move my maxilla up and forward, my jaw will also slightly move forward maintaining a good balance. This is all speculation though, I am still focused on obtaining any kind of movement on the upper jaw.
You don't actually expand the palate- there's no way of expanding the maxilla unless you surgically do so or start a device at a very young age when the hard palate is "soft" enough. The expansion that biobloc can achieve (in adults) is tipping/flaring the teeth out. This can help with mild crowding and it may avoid extractions.
The issue with head gears is that the bones will always want to go back to where it once was. Muscles can't change unless you elect for resection but, the anatomical layout of your bones, tissue, muscles, etc. etc. can't be altered by the means of a device- especially after you've gone past at least 11 or 12- maybe younger (?). Even surgery for those under 25 have a higher chance of relapse due to the continuation of the bones growing.
I've come across a few adults that have tried this route (head gear/biobloc)- many years ago- at a Mew seminar. We all decided to give adult expansion a try but, in the end- it's somewhat of a "hoax".
Keep up with your headgear project though- who knows, you might be the only person I know (out of the 10 or so adults) that comes out with permanent results.
Btw, how long have you been at this? Does your ortho agree with you?
You say there is no way to expand the palate in an adult, this study begs to differ:
Rapid Palatal Expansion in the Young Adult: Time for a Paradigm Shift? • Dan A. Stuart, DDS
This shows clear mid-palatal separation on adults using a teeth anchored RPE.
I agree that traditional palatal expanders will simply tip the teeth out in adults, but this is the most important feature of my headgear: it does NOT touch the teeth at any place. It's impossible for my appliance to tip my teeth because it has ZERO contact with them. I am sure that a lot of people tried to move the facial bones in adults, but they cannot be all grouped together because the method is different. If I had attached a reverse-pull facemask to a RPE in my mouth, I would agree with you, I would completely displace my teeth before any kind of bone growth. But here, the force is transferred directly to the walls of the palate which makes it more efficient and removes the risk of tipping my teeth.
Relapse is one of my big concerns. If i manage to get any kind of results, I know it will probably a constant fight to keep them from going back. But who knows, I will worry about that if and when I get there.
I have been working on this project for 1 year, but most of this time was for the design of the appliance/headgear. I haven't been wearing the non-teeth anchored prototype yet. I came across a lot of challenges in creating this appliance and headgear that took a lot of time to solve.
My ortho this it will work, and other orthos I consulted think it wont.
I don't... but why did you think it was prudent to note that you live 20 minutes away from this guy? Does that make him more "legit" somehow? Anyways, upon further inspection- this Jester guy utilizes palate expanders- nothing new or out of the ordinary.
http://47jp8tgf9ge2lyv7z4740vok.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Palatal-expansion-document.pdf
It's still a huge misnomer though since it doesn't really expand the maxilla but rather pushes the gums and teeth to gain more space/room to tip and widen the arch.
I noticed that the "token cases" these articles like to publish are mainly geared towards slight class ii's, moderate crowding issues or deep bite cases. I've yet to see a good/solid result with a class iii. In theory- if they're able to expand the maxilla by widening the arch- then they should be able to project the maxilla too (since the widening happens across the whole jaw). But alas, it can't because it's not real expansion of the bone. If you look at each type of device made by "insert doc's name here"- the most anterior projection they can offer is to add dinky wires to the backs of each tooth. The biobloc that's modified does something of the sort too but again, it's just tipping the teeth out.
Yes I looked at the expanders used by this doctor and, just like every other expander I have ever seen, it is attached to the molars. This makes it completely unusable to get palatal expansion in adults.
