What is a palatal expander and what does it do?

Question: I know its for braces but what is it?? And what does it do? I dont think I need one cuz the ortho didnt say anything about it.

1) What is it?

2) What does it do?

3) Why would someone need it?

Answers:
A palatal expander is a type of orthodontic appliance that connects to the top back teeth and is placed over the roof of the patient's mouth. An expander is used when your top jaw is narrow compared to your bottom jaw, and will widen the top jaw to have it match properly with the bottom jaw. It uses screws that must be adjusted every couple of days to keep expanding the jaw. It can be a little uncomfortable, but aspirin or tylenol or advil usually works fine to get rid of the discomfort.

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