Expander and implication on Jaw joint

A worried mother asked me about her 8 year old son about the impact of expander with respect to jaw joint.

I’m not a dentist so I have no comment about the expander but I would like to mention the possible impact on the jaw joint.

If wearing the expander for a long time it may affect the position of the tongue.

Tongue should be on the roof of mouth but if expander affects the tongue position then it may cause tongue to move differently and it may affect how a person breathes because the tongue may drop to the bottom of the mouth and a person becomes a mouth breather.

A mouth breathing pattern dries mouth, called “xerostomia”.

Xerostomia can contribute to clenching.

Clenching can affect jaw joint in a negative way such as disc displacement/ popping and cracking sounds in the jaw and contributes to arthritis and therefore pain.

So it would be great to assess tongue position during and after the completion of expander therapy so that if necessary the tongue position is restored.

It may be worthwhile getting the jaw and the tongue checked by a professional such as a physiotherapist with a special interest in jaw joint or speech pathologist.

Happy rehab!

Cheers,

Metro Physiotherapy Channel
www.metrophysiotherapy.com.au
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This is a general information and for general education purpose only. Please seek your own professional assessment and treatment.