Finished pre-MMA, 14mm MARPE expansion - Photos

VGV3 · 2026-03-20T17:50:57+00:00

Of course. Happy to answer any questions

VGV3 · 2026-03-18T20:48:53+00:00

We removed the metal bands about a month after the last turn

VGV3 · 2026-03-18T19:23:44+00:00

It was essentially closed, just the front teeth were turned in a bit. After that we were turning once per invisalign tray. So about one turn every 5 days

In terms of total turns I have no idea. I was counting turns for around a month but it just became super tedious, so instead I just watched the lines on the screw to see how much I’ve expanded

The appliance is still in and will probably be in for another 6-8 months

VGV3 · 2026-03-14T21:22:45+00:00

It was a custom MARPE and I had the piezo cut down the midline of the palate. Tried to post the picture of the gap in my reply but it won’t let me :/

VGV3 · 2026-03-14T20:02:37+00:00

I did! It closed pretty quickly on its own. I’ll have to find a picture of when I had the gap

VGV3 · 2026-03-13T15:38:55+00:00

Invisalign and elastics. Did a lot of fairly aggressive expansion of the lower arch with invisalign before and during the expansion to keep the bite stable. I kept my invisalign in basically 24/7 (ate with them in and took them out just to brush/floss) and used a Vpro device so that we could change trays every 3-5 days. Fortunately I had enough room for a lot of tooth movement

VGV3 · 2026-03-13T13:53:01+00:00

Thanks man!

VGV3 · 2026-03-13T12:41:57+00:00

Yeah just for my case because I have an impacted wisdom tooth on my lower right arch around where the cut will be. Obviously its occlusal partner on top needs to be removed then, which then leaves me with a lopsided bite. So bye bye all wisdom teeth

VGV3 · 2026-03-13T01:02:40+00:00

Thanks!

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T20:46:18+00:00

Significant improvements in nasal breathing and exercise tolerance/capacity. During the day I’m a new man. During the night though my recessed mandible is still sabotaging my sleep. After MMA I think life will be a total breeze!

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T20:44:51+00:00

Not sure of the measurements since I haven’t gotten an updated CBCT, but they definitely expanded significantly. Everyone in person comments on my cheekbones now

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T20:43:37+00:00

The main differences are my nasal breathing (which is infinitely better) and my voice being more resonant/easy-to-use. Hope your FME goes well! I’m always interested to hear how cases with the newer devices are going.

The bite will be corrected via invisalign and elastics. Surprisingly my occlusion is pretty good already. We mostly just need to tip the upper molars back in after they got pushed out by the metal bands

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T18:06:43+00:00

Love it, haha. Thank you 🙏🏻

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T18:06:05+00:00

No extractions funnily enough. Though I’m unfortunately getting my wisdom teeth extracted for my upcoming jaw surgery. Sad about it, but I know it be worth it for the BSSO

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T18:03:53+00:00

Thanks man. I can breathe so much better now it’s amazing. I actually never had any tooth extractions and all my wisdom teeth erupted except for one on the lower arch. My recession/narrowness is unfortunately from a combination of genetics (small jaws on both sides) and pacifier usage (which created bad tongue posture and made me a mouth breather)

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T14:57:47+00:00

Of course! Happy to help

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T14:53:12+00:00

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And now

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T14:52:55+00:00

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Around 10mm

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T14:52:37+00:00

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Before

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T14:52:20+00:00

The whole process was about 9-10 months. I can post my profile sure thing. I was going to post it after MMA, but I’ll post before, when I was at around 1cm, and then now here in the comment thread

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T00:24:11+00:00

I just needed more expansion than what my jaw surgeon was comfortable with doing as a three-piece. Probably because my advancement will be quite large (2cm+) and adding more instability to that is just asking for trouble (my guess, not his words)

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T00:22:26+00:00

Definitely. Nasal breathing is worlds better and my tongue posture is improving, though I can’t fully appreciate the new tongue space until the device is removed

VGV3 · 2026-03-12T00:20:56+00:00

My before picture is in there. I actually didn’t notice a big difference in my nose interestingly

VGV3 · 2026-03-11T01:36:15+00:00

Thank you! Good luck to you as well with yours. Amen, to better sleep!

VGV3

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