Exclusive | Parents spending thousands on orthodontic trend for their tweens
The 8-year-old daughter of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Danielle Cabral has been rocking a bougie new accessory — and no, it’s not bursting with bows, tulle or sequins.
You can’t tell by looking at her, but Valentina Cabral sports a pricey metal appliance that sits inside her mouth and gives her teeth room to shine.
“Her teeth are actually aligned perfectly right now,” Cabral, 40, told The Post. “I definitely have seen a change.”
Forget Labubus, “Wicked” dolls and merch from “KPop Demon Hunters.” The latest must-have among Gen Alpha pre-tweens is a $3,000 palate expander that gradually widens the upper jaw to create more space for crowded permanent teeth and correct bite issues.
Parents have been raving about these glow-up gadgets, even though they resemble scaffolding, the upkeep can be stressful, and they may make eating and talking difficult.
“It’s not as bad as you think,” Cabral said, “and it’s really [a] millisecond of time in their whole life.”
Why does the palate need expanding?
The palate is the roof of your mouth, which separates your nasal and oral cavities and plays a crucial role in your breathing, speaking and chewing.
Many people have a narrow palate like Valentina, with one study of orthodontic care finding it in 80% of participants.
The palate may not develop properly due to genetics, aggressive thumb-sucking or chronic nasal obstruction, resulting in crowded teeth, speech issues and breathing difficulties.
Since the palate is made of two parts, the palate expander works by slowly pulling both halves apart.
“Palatal expanders are most effective when the jaw is still growing, typically between the ages of 7 and 14,” Dr. Barry Glaser, an orthodontist in Westchester County, told The Post.
“Teens and adults may also be candidates for treatment, but results are best in younger patients.”
You don’t need to tell that to Starla Arguijo, 36, who got her latest palate expander in June.
“I wish I would have gotten it done when I was much younger, because I’ve spent my entire life hating my smile,” the Texas mom confessed to The Post.
How do palate expanders work?
Traditional palate expanders attach to the upper back molars with bands. A small screw mechanism connects the two halves of the metal device.
The kid or parent is given a special key to slightly turn the screw each day, with each twist widening the appliance by about 0.25 millimeters.
“I’m right there with her doing it, but [Valentina] wants to be independent and do it herself now, which gives me anxiety,” Cabral admitted about the turns.
“Sometimes she rotates it the wrong way.”
As the palate widens, new bone tissue forms in the gap to stabilize the expansion.
Palate expanders can be worn for several months, depending on the narrowness of the arch.
After all the turns are made, there’s usually a holding phase to let things settle. Patients might notice better teeth alignment, a wider smile and face shape and even improved breathing and sleep because the nasal passages expanded too.
Connecticut mom Jessica Ziolko said her 8-year-old daughter’s teeth are already less crowded since she got her palate expander in October.
“I took photos before she got the palate expander, and then we took some recently and compared them side by side, and we’ve definitely seen a shift in her teeth,” Ziolko told The Post about her daughter Scarlett, who has a “really high” palate and an open bite — her upper and lower front teeth don’t touch, even when she closes her mouth.
How much does a palate expander cost?
The price varies based on the type of expander, the complexity of the case and insurance coverage.
Ziolko, for one, shelled out $4,500 for Scarlett’s expander and braces.
In Pennsylvania, Sencak Orthodontics reports that the initial orthodontic consultation costs between $100 and $250, while the device is priced $1,000 to $3,000. Follow-up visits for adjustments and monitoring range from $50 to $150 a pop.
An alternative — the Invisalign Palatal Expander, which launched in 2023 — can cost anywhere from $1,000 to over $6,000.
It differs from the traditional appliances in that it is removable and does not feature screws or metal parts.
“The Invisalign system uses a series of 3D-printed expanders,” explained Glaser, an Invisalign provider.
“Patients brush and floss, clean the device and insert it onto the posterior teeth,” he added. “The trays are swapped according to the treatment plan, with no manual turning required.”
What are some downsides of palate expanders?
Experts say that side effects of the expanders can include discomfort, pain, jaw aches and headaches, as well as speech difficulties, sinus pressure, a gap between front teeth and increased saliva.
Arguijo has struggled as the wires press down on her tongue — and she lamented that she sounds like she’s “sick half the time.”
And over in New Jersey, Valentina replaced the traditional expander she got in September 2024 with a removable one in July after “choking” on some words.
“My daughter is an actress, so it really affected her speech in the beginning, and even when she [learned] how to use it, there was a difference in her speech,” Cabral explained.
“She had some big roles that she was up for,” she added, “and [the dentist] said, ‘We can do the removable one.’”
It also changes eating habits, since hard, sticky, chewy and sugary foods can damage the device.
Lottie Weaver’s 9-year-old daughter, Kinlee, said goodbye to Starbursts, suckers and gum when she got her expander in May.
“Things get stuck in it,” the Arizona mom told The Post as she recalled the “hard” adjustment. “The first week, she literally just ate rice and yogurt … and it was sore.”
Do palate expanders replace braces?
Dr. Ben Winters, a Texas-based dentist and orthodontist, said palate expanders are “about as permanent as a jaw surgery would be.”
Yet, they rarely fix smiles on their own.
“Almost universally, people will still undergo braces — if they already have a narrow jaw, there’s probably other things going on: crowding, underbite, overbite, etc.,” Winters, founder of the oral care company Something Nice, told The Post.
“It would be rare to only do an expander and that’s it, but in some mild cases where it perfectly relieves the crowding, I guess it’s a possibility!”
Tips for those considering palate expanders
- Speak up if there’s discomfort. Arguijo said she changed expanders after “the roof of my mouth kept growing over” the first one. You may have to experiment to find the right one.
- Do the prescribed turns. A big problem that experts see is patients doing more turns than needed, causing overexpansion, pain or tissue damage. The good news is that a professional can undo the turns.
- Keep it clean. Weaver recommends a water flosser to spray away the gunk. She also packs a disposable toothbrush and a collapsible cup in her daughter’s backpack in case something gets caught in the expander at school.
- Educate yourself on the possibilities. Ziolko said her daughter not only needs the expander and braces, but also myofunctional therapy to help correct her mouth breathing and her tongue posture. She figured this out after doing extensive research on orthodontic treatments.
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