Signs Your Child May Need a Palate Expander

A palate expander is a device that is placed against the roof of your child’s mouth. It can be used to slowly widen the palate to alleviate issues that can result from a narrow palate. As your child’s mouth adjusts to the expander, it can be widened further, slowly bringing the roof of the mouth to a desirable width.

Signs That a Palate Expander is Needed

When considering whether your child needs a palate expander, you are going to look for signs that his or her mouth is too narrow.

• A classic sign of this is teeth that are coming in crooked (or even, in some cases, overlapping one another). While there can be a few causes for this, a very common cause is that there simply is not enough room in your child’s mouth. Using a palate expander will quickly alleviate this problem, giving the teeth the room they need to grow in properly.
• Another sign that your child could be in need of a palate expander is a bite that is misaligned. When the mouth is closed, the surfaces of the teeth should mirror one another. However, if your child’s palate is too narrow, the teeth may not line up correctly. This could be the case even if the teeth look like they are straight and properly aligned.

Getting More Information

If you think that your child may have need of a palate expander, please let us know. We’re happy to provide you with further information.