Hi to my friends. I found a video a dentist made of how to turn a rapid palate expander. I am pretty sure this is the same one I had because the key is the same and so is the appliance. So check this out.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+turn+a+rapid+palate+expander&mid=5EF7123F1210DB24868A5EF7123F1210DB24868A&view=detail&FORM=VIRE7

Oh, one hint could be that since it is hard to see, a friend of mine who had one said their mother used a small magnifying glass to see the hole better because its so tiny.

To our new friend, Micah who's mother wrote to me to let me know that Micah will be getting the palate expander a couple of days before Thanksgiving.  I remember when I got the spacers. They hurt a little when they got put in. I didn't like them but its just the first step to getting it over with so just do it, get it done, get the palate expander, write me about it and I will write you back and I and your fellow palate expander friends here can help you.

Micah's Mom made a comment about how it is difficult for her too. This is just like how my mom was - you know the woman I called the "Torturer!" hahahahahahahahahahahahahhaaa! I just asked my mom and she told me that yes, it was hard for her because she knew what she was doing was causing me pain because what mom wants to cause her son pain. But my mom got through it and I think her giving me a couple of bucks made her feel like she was stopping herself from giving me guilt and I didn't mind because I was getting money. But really a message to all the Mom's, I am glad my mom helped me with this. It means she was being a good Mom.

I hope you all have a good day. Oh, and happy halloween!
Your Friend,
Colin

I miss it.

Do you know I can't stand not having a palate expander anymore. I really, really miss it. I miss the key too. I mostly miss the palate expander. I really wish I had it so I could write more and more to you again but I keep trying to come up with things to tell you so I do a lot of research online and answer your comments.
Yours Truly,
Colin

Mouthwash

Hi Friends,
A lot of people have been writing to me to ask if you can use mouthwash when you have a palate expander to get the food unstuck. Well, I didn't really use it because it stings my tongue but I did swish around water in my mouth and that helped to get the food out sometimes. But don't forget to use the little brush thing your dentist gives you and if the dentist doesn't give it to you, ask him because it really helps. You kind of stick the brush between the top of your mouth and the palate expander and move it back and forth and it gets the stuck food out. I used to keep it in my lunch box last year.
Me and my Mom found this website that sells the little toothbrushes. They call it a palate sweeper. here is the link we found (NOTE: we are just posting this because we thought it might help soem of you but we didn't use this, we used the one from the dentist). http://www.dentakit.com/lpapaclto.html
Have a nice day and thank you for reading my blog.
Your Friend,
Colin :)

Responses to comments

I hope you guys are all doing okay with your palate expanders. Congratulations to Alexa who is almost done with the turning. Great job!
Makayla is another one who is joining our palate expander group - we have to make a name for all of us who have had or will have, or are having a palate expander like the p.e.'s... no thats like for gym. We shoudl name ourselves. Anyway, good luck to Makayla. It will be okay as all of us know and soon enough the whole palate expander adventure will be over.
Have a good day.
your Friend,
Colin
p.s. if you are new to my blog, don't forget to scroll down so you can read my almost daily adventures of when i had the palate expander.
have a nice day.

Why Have a Palate Expander if You're Getting Braces Anyway???

Hi  Friends!
I hope you are all doing well with your palate expanders! I've had mine off now for about a month but I still like to be in touch with you and say hello because if you are reading this, that means you are going through the experience of having a palate expander and I am certainly someone who understands what you are going through.

One of the questions I've gotten over and over is...

Why Have A Palate Expander If You're Getting Braces Anyway?????

I asked my wonderful dentist the answer to this question which is...

"The palatal expander really is treating the bones to ensure that the upper and lower jaws are the same size.  Yes, the teeth move now but it's because their is more space. Braces alone do not correct this problem."
I hope that answered the question.

One of our readers mentioned that her palate expander broke but after all the turns were done, so her dentist took it off. I know you are supposed to keep it on for awhile after you are done turning the key, but if this reader can let us know how long ago the turns stopped, that would be great.

I hope you all have a good day.
Your Friend
Colin :)

Answers to Some of Your Comments

First I have to say that I learned a lot about 9/11 in school this week and even though I know that I wasn't born then, I hope that it never happens again and that we are all safe and happy.

Found this online and thought it was interesting to share on my blog. These are two different kinds of palate expanders. I had the one on the left.

Now to answer some of your comments...
To Alexa:
Alexa got her palate expander on last week but this week will start to turn it. Alexa was like me - we both first got it on and then we waited before we started turning. With me, my dentist thought I was a little nervous so he wanted me to get used to it. I talked to my dentist about this and he said that sometimes kids get so scared with the palate exander so the dentist will have them get used to it before they start doing the key.
To Lucy:
Lucy wrote and said that having a palate expander is not fun. It is NOT something that is fun, but I tried to look at the positives and sometimes you will see that I wrote lists like "what you can do with a palate expander." I tried to make it funny. Maybe you can add some to the list and I can make a new list.
To Jessica:
Jessica wanted to know if I am eating a lot of popcorn now that the expander is off and the answer is YES, YES YES!!! and my Mom is happy to be able to give me popcorn for my school snack again. Yey!

I still check my blog almost every day so if you questions, I can answer it. Remember, I went through this and I know what you are thinking and how you are feeling and so are all of the thousands of people that have checked my blog.
Have a good day.
Your Friend, Colin

Here is the video of me getting my palate expander off

Hi to my Online friends,

These are the videos of me getting my palate expander off. From Your Friend, Colin :)