When used in an adult whose palate has already fused, what effect on facial structure (maxillary bones etc) does a palatal expander have? Also, does the device change the curvature of a smile or make it wider?
palatal expanders
- Thread starter jasvmen
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2013
- Messages
- 58
- Reaction score
- 2
I don't think that you can use palatal expander on adult it wouldn't work.
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2008
- Messages
- 157
- Reaction score
- 0
RPEs only achieve skeletal expansion prior to fusion of the sutures. If an expander were to be placed in an adult, only dental tipping would take place, and there would be no effect on the 'maxillary bones'. This is problematic since the maxillary molars would be occluding off of their long axes. Also, the cusp fossa relationship would be thrown out of balance.
