RPE (Maxillary Expansion): Is it worth the pain?

So, like, when does this actually happen? Can you even do this to perfectly healthy teeth just for the looks of it? And is there anything out there for widening the mandible too—because if the maxilla expands by 9mm in just three weeks, isn't that going to leave me looking totally lopsided compared to my lower jaw? Also, what kind of damage am I looking at price-wise for a treatment like this?

Aaron Evans3 said:So, when is this actually done? Can you do it on perfectly healthy teeth just for looks? And is there something for widening the mandible too? Because if my upper jaw expands by 9mm in three weeks, isn't that going to leave me totally out of proportion with my lower jaw? Also, what does this even cost?

An RPE is used when standard braces just can't create enough space in the upper jaw to get a functional bite. If your issue is specifically with the width of your upper jaw and not your lower one, the expansion goes exactly as far as needed to fix the relationship with the bottom jaw. Basically, if you need 9mm, you get 9mm; if you only need 6mm, then it's 6mm. Your orthodontist is the one who calculates those measurements.
Every orthodontic treatment has its limits... you can't fix everything with just braces. That’s why these more intensive measures are sometimes necessary.
As for the price, you really need to ask your orthodontist. It varies wildly from one clinic to another.