18d (edited) • Structure 🦴
Is a Palate Expander Right for You?
First off, I want to note this, or anything I say for that matter, is not medical advice or me telling you what to do. I'd like to discuss this, however, because today I woke up to someone posting a picture of their palate in my comment section asking if they should do expansion. While I found that hilarious, it also brought up a lot of thoughts that I want to share.
So, as always, let me explain this from my own experience and why I plan to get one. The symptoms I struggled with kept directing me toward ENTs. Post-nasal drip, ear congestion and ringing, hearing loss, constantly feeling like I had to clear my throat, sinusitis, and not breathing well through my nose, just to name a few. With a symptom list like that, who wouldn't think the best specialist to see would be an ENT?
Unfortunately, after meeting with seven of them, none had any answers to my problems. The only new thing discovered was a mild case of acid reflux. After ear pressure tests, hearing tests, and seven nasal endoscopies, one doctor did offer to do surgery on my septum.
I was too nervous to sign up for the surgery initially, but after a year or so of persistent symptoms and no answers, I went back to the surgeon. I thought maybe he saw something the others missed when, in reality, I should have viewed it as a major red flag. In general, if six out of seven doctors don't bring up the idea of surgery, it's probably not needed. But hey, I was desperate for symptom relief.
After the septum surgery that I'm still coming to terms with, I was left with a weaker-looking nose, a more crooked septum than I started with (because I personally don't even know if there was a deviated septum in the first place—my nose was straight as an arrow), turbinates reduced to the point of almost being invisible, dryness, bleeding, and a hard time clearing my nose.
This isn't meant to scare anyone away from septum surgery if it's actually needed, but in my case, it wasn't. After putting my body through an unnecessary four-hour surgery that, on average, takes 30–90 minutes, and still not being able to breathe well through my nose to this day, I found out the hard way that what I truly needed was a palate expander.
The base of the nose sits directly on top of the palate. As your palate grows nice and wide, as it should, so does the nasal floor. So if your palate is narrow and high-vaulted, taking up space in the nasal passage and not allowing the nasal floor to develop properly, like mine, it can result in poor nasal breathing.
This painted the false image of turbinates that appeared too large and ended up being reduced. The turbinates weren't the problem—the house they lived in was just too small. (CBCT of my nasal passage after surgery attached.)
I've mentioned my failed experience trying to get relief through a tooth-borne expander, so now I'm moving on to a skeletal palate expander. I have high hopes it will help my issues, give my tongue more space width-wise, and improve my nasal breathing.
With all that said, I want to note a couple important points pertaining to the original question. If you're dealing with symptoms like poor nasal breathing, not enough tongue space, a scalloped tongue, or any of the other issues that can come with a narrow palate, it may be in your best interest to look into a skilled provider who can determine whether skeletal expansion is appropriate for you.
There is risk in everything in this space. My most common phrase seems to be picking the lesser of two evils when it comes to "cures." Skeletal expansion itself is not a bulletproof or perfectly predictable process.
Referring back to the person who posted their photo in my comments, there is simply too much unknown information. Asking whether you should get expansion because someone else plans to get it is a terrible way to determine whether you need it.
It's also important to emphasize that two people with the exact same structure may have completely different experiences. One could be like me and have a host of symptoms, while the other could be completely symptom-free. I always say that if your quality of life is being affected to the point where the potential benefits may outweigh the risks, then it's worth looking into and deciding for yourself.
And remember, this procedure isn't cheap.
Appreciate everyone being here and reading this over. I hope something has helped.
With love,
John
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Is a Palate Expander Right for You?
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