DD2 had a palate expander and our orthodontist says that before age 15 is a
much better time frame to get the expander because at that point the bones
start to fuse together (they are supposed to do that). I would take the
opinion of the orthodontist because that is what their specialty is and have
more experience with it. Usually, they like to wait for orthodontic work to
be done when all of the teeth have come in. If the molars don't come in, you
may have to have some work to get them to come through.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

"toypup" wrote in message
...
Okay, so DS's pediatric dentist recommended a palate expander because he
said his new teeth coming in were too big and he doesn't have room in his
mouth. He says there's not much time for a palate expander. After age 8,
he stops doing them, it's too late to expand the palate and he just leaves
everything for the orthodontist later. He said they want to prevent the
need for tooth extraction later. My main concern is I see a big, whopping
gap between DS two front teeth. To a layman, it doesn't look crowded at
all.

So, I take him to an orthodontist who happens to be an assistant professor
of orthodontics at a nearby university. This guy says no problem waiting
for the palate expanders. He's more worried about the molars not having
come in. DS is 7 and they should have come in last year. He says there's
not much time, they need to come in in six months or else action will need
to be taken because the roots will become fully developed soon and they
will never come out if they are stuck there fully developed. Funny DS's
pediatric dentist never mentioned a concern there. He says if the molars
don't come out in six months, DS will need surgery to help release them or
maybe pull a baby tooth to let it out. It seems if he needs a tooth
pulled, then maybe he does have crowding? I saw the x-ray and it's hard
to explain, but the molar is coming up straight, it's just a tiny bit
under the tooth in front of it. If the baby tooth gets pulled, he'll need
orthodontic work to help hold the other teeth in position. This
orthodontist insists we do not need palate expanders at this time and we
can wait until the four top and four bottom front teeth are fully in to
decide.

Okay, I think if I go get a third opinion, the opinion will depend of if I
go to a pediatric dentist or an orthodontist as they both have a different
focus and financial incentive. There are two different issues that two
different experts say require immediate attention. Anyway, anyone with
experience in this area?