Expander

Avery got her expander put in at the orthodontist today. She was very nervous about it. First, they told her she would have to swish for a whole minute with the peroxide mouth wash. She was really freaking out about this one. Then, she was just worried about getting the expander and if it would hurt and didn't know what to expect.

Ready for this to be over

Metal mouth!

Before picture to compare to the after picture in a few months

*I'm not going to lie... this was quite an adjustment for her... and for us. For the first 12 hours or so, she didn't know how to swallow with this on the roof of her mouth and there was a lot of slurping. There are so many foods she can't eat. And the ones she can eat kept getting stuck in her expander. She also worries a lot about choking, so she kept feeling like she was choking. :(  And then, there is the "cranking" we have to do each night before bed. They gave us this tool to turn the expander each night. The first week, I had the worst time getting the thing to crank all the way around. We ended up back at the orthodontist twice to get help with it. But, the second time, the woman gave me some great tips and after that, we were all set!