#megrims

My Gelfling had expanders put in by the orthodontist on Friday. It was already an unhappy experience. She was in extreme discomfort when they were put in, crying and v. upset.

When it was over she asked me why she had to go through that when there was nothing currently wrong with her teeth, which shattered my heart. I explained why, then took her out to dinner to cheer her up. She was too sore to eat, and having trouble eating and talking because she wasn’t used to her expanders.

She is spending a couple weeks with my parents for her summer vacation. So the first night with her expanders (sat), my dad was the one who turned the key to expand them. We were both there when they explained the after care to us. We both gleaned from the conversation that we were to do 16 turns once a day on the upper jaw, 16 turns every 5 days on the lower jaw. The nurse had an extremely heavy accent and was hard to understand. We asked questions to clarify, and got the same response. We specifically asked 16 turns once a day? And she nodded yes.

She was in so much pain, she couldn’t take more than 7 turns. She was crying so hard and just… In complete horror at the thought of having to go through that every day. Told my dad to stop and called the Dr to see what was going on. Had to leave a message because they are closed over the weekend and only call back if it’s an emergency. Not willing to put her through that much discomfort.

We had decided not to do the expansion turns anymore until we talked to the orthodontist. But my Gelfling decided to tough it out and be brave and let my dad do the turns Sunday night even though it hurt. She took some aspirin and put orajel on her gums and went to sleep. This morning there was a visible gap between her two front teeth. Which seems extreme after just 2 nights with her expander.