An orthodontic palatal expander is a commonly used appliance here at York Orthodontics. The expander can be used effectively to treat cases such as a crossbite, crowding or asymmetric jaw growth. Many adolescents have narrow jaws, causing a crossbite to form. A crossbite appears when the lower back teeth are biting outside the upper teeth. In most cases, there is also not enough room for the upper permanent teeth to emerge into proper alignment. This causes crowding. The most common form of treatment for these types of cases is a palatal expander.

The expanders job is to create more space in the patient’s upper jaw. The recommended age for correcting these types of orthodontic problems is between the ages of 7-11. The upper left and right jaw are joined by a section of cartilage, which does not compete fusion until after puberty. Therefore,  the width of the palate can still be increased. A palatal expander works by stretching and separating the bone and cartilage of the palate.  This creates a widened position of the upper jaw, allowing more bone to grow in between. This can also create more space for teeth to shift into their desired alignment.