- [Dad] Ready for your expander?
- No.
- [Dad] Think you'll be able to talk?
Do a tongue twister.
- While we were walking we were watching window washers
wash Washington's windows with warm washing water.
- [Dad] How about seashells?
- She sells seashells by the seashore.
- [Dad] Alright, open your mouth and look up.
Alright, good luck. - Thank you.
- [Fran] So, let's go ahead
and take your little spacers out.
Okay, tilt your head back for me, nice and big.
Thank you, and I'm gonna go ahead
and shine a big bright light so I can see everything.
And if you want some sunglasses,
would you like sunglasses? - No thank you.
- [Fran] You're good?
Okay. Some patients do like that.
Okay, so, I'm gonna go ahead and take them out.
They're very simple, they just come out one-two-three.
And, actually, when they come out,
it's more of like a relief, you know?
- Mhm. - [Fran] Okay, they are out.
So feel the space between your teeth with your tongue?
- Yeah.
- [Fran] It's really big, isn't it?
Okay, so, this is the appliance right here.
This is what it looks like, alright?
This is what it looks like.
So, we're gonna go ahead and try it in and see how it fits.
I need you to pick up your chin and open up nice and big.
And we're gonna go ahead and try it in.
See how it goes.
This side in first.
Okay, it might feel a little bit tight.
I have a little bite stick here
that I'm gonna go ahead and have you bite.
Bite down, bite down, sweet girl.
Bite down.
Okay, I'm gonna look, make sure
that it's fitting very nicely.
And it is, it's fitting perfectly around all your teeth.
Now, it may feel a little strange to ya.
- Yeah.
- [Fran] Hold on, okay, bite down.
Okay.
Just looking and making sure that everything's good.
The doctor's gonna come in a minute.
It's very good, it looks great, so I'm gonna go ahead
and take it out and I'm gonna summon
the doctor over here, okay? - Okay.
- Alright, so out it comes.
Okay, just bear with me, okay?
You're doing great.
- [Dad] Why are you taking it back out?
- [Fran] Because it needs to be cemented in
and I have to put cement in it.
We have to make sure before we cement it,
of course, that it fits properly.
Because what's the sense in cementing something
and, you know, it's not fitting properly?
So we have to try it first.
- [Dad] Measure twice, cement once?
- [Fran] Yes.
Okay, Doctor E.
- [Doctor] I was gonna get in here and wave!
- [Fran] It's a beautiful fit.
- [Doctor] With a beautiful lady.
- [Fran] With a beautiful girl.
- [Dad] How did it feel, Whitney?
- Really weird.
- [Doctor] Alright, my dear.
So, we're gonna slide this in, alright?
It goes in real easily.
At least that's the game plan.
We always like trying it in, make sure it fits
before we jump in there.
- [Fran] Yeah, Dad was asking me
why do we try it in, you have to make sure it fits properly.
- We don't wanna do it with the adhesive and have
"Oh, let's see what's going on" when the thing's setting up.
- [Dad] Yeah, I didn't know there was any adhesives.
Exciting.
- Even though my lamp's really good,
and they're all custom-made, the one I use.
Alright my dear, so we're gonna slide this in, okay?
- [Fran] So, I'm putting cement in,
around the little rings.
Both sides.
And that's with the adhesive.
- [Doctor] You're a celebrity, right?
- [Fran] She is!
(laughing)
- [Doctor] Tilt your head back a little bit.
- [Fran] Okay, sweet girl.
So, we're gonna go ahead and put it in.
- The pressure.
- [Fran] We're gonna get the extra cement off, there we go.
- Okay.
Okay now, bite down here.
Nice.
Bite down again.
You're doing great, bite down.
Bite down.
One more time should do it, thank you.
Perfect.
Get all the cement so you don't taste it.
And then we're gonna let you sit here
for one second, literally.
Fran's gonna clean all the cement off,
which I think I got most of it off already, Fran.
- [Fran] Okay, I'll just double-check, yeah, and see.
- There we go, can you bite down, honey?
Thank you, you did gorgeous.
- [Fran] You did great,
hold on one second, sweetcake.
- [Doctor] I'm gonna set you up, okay?
- [Fran] Alright, so.
- [Doctor] When Fran uses this, don't look at it.
- [Dad] Oh, okay.
- [Doctor] You can do it through the camera if you want.
- [Dad] That's what cures the cement?
- [Doctor] Yeah, it's just a bright white light
that's really intense. - [Dad] Okay.
- [Doctor] It's not good for your retina.
Just stay rid of that.
And you can keep this, by the way.
- [Fran] This is her little model, yeah.
- [Dad] Oh, wow.
- [Fran] You can look back in 10 years
and see how tiny and teeny she was!
She's too cute. - [Dad] Pre-expansion.
- [Doctor] And then we just have
to turn it and we're done, that's all she does.
- [Dad] Ahh, the turning.
- [Doctor] Oh, you don't have to turn, we'll do it for ya.
- [Dad] How often does it get turned?
- [Doctor] Once every four weeks.
The screw in there is actually made out
of a copper nitride spring, so it absorbs the energy
when we turn it and very gradually expands.
So, we're just gonna turn six times.
We don't wanna over-turn it.
- [Dad] How much does it expand per turn?
- [Doctor] A quarter of a milimeter, it's very precise.
The screws we use were made in Germany, so very precise.
Actually, I think all the screws were made in Germany.
- [Fran] Mhm, I think so too.
Alright, little girl, so what I want you to do
when I'm done curing this, is I want you
to go to the sink over there and rinse
because the cement is not tasty, okay?
- Uh huh.
- [Fran] Then come on back and I'll
- [Doctor] Wash it out, we'll turn it, and you're done!
- [Dad] That was easy!
- [Doctor] You'll be a celebrity on YouTube!
- [Fran] I love Las Vegas.
- [Dad] Wait, where are you staying?
- [Fran] I'm due for a trip there, that's for sure.
- [Dad] (laughing)
- [Fran] On the sides, so dad can know too,
on the sides there's some little tubes here.
If she does complain about it rubbing,
you can take some wax, soften it between your fingers,
and place it wherever the metal is rubbing on the inside.
- [Dad] Okay. Why are there tubes there?
- [Fran] That's just the construction of the appliance.
- [Dad] Germans.
- [Fran] Put your head back and open up nice and big.
Okay, now, we're gonna do the turns.
We're gonna do six turns, so bear with me
because I've gotta find my center hole.
Okay, so just bear with me here.
I need you to open really big.
The first turn is sometimes the toughest
because I've gotta get this in here.
So, we're gonna do six turns, okay?
- Uh huh.
- [Fran] There's one.
And that might feel tight.
Two.
Are you okay?
- Uh huh!
- [Fran] Three.
- [Dad] Halfway there. - [Fran] Mhm.
Four.
Five.
You've only got one more and that's it.
It will not be turned again for a month.
Just gonna let the thing do its job here.
Okay.
You're okay, you're fine.
Okay, you're good. - Did it break?
- No, it's fine. - [Dad] (giggling)
- It just makes a little clicking sound.
As I'm turning it, every time I turn it,
it's getting harder and harder to turn.
I had to really put quite a bit of pressure, but she's good.
Okay, so let's sit you up, get you some things,
get you some points on your card.
- I feel so weird!
I can't talk.
- [Dad] Does it hurt at all?
- No. - [Dad] Try the seashells.
- She sells seashells by the seashore.
- [Dad] Pretty good!
How about While We Were Walking?
- While we were walking we were watching window washers.
(laughing)
- [Fran] Here's your model.
Little sticks of that, and you just
break a little piece off, soften it between your fingers,
and if it's rubbing on those cheek sides,
you just put it right there, a little gob of it.
It'll make it smooth your cheek, okay?
- Mhm.
- [Fran] Alright, so just give me one minute.
So, nothing hard and sticky, we'll see you back
in four weeks, keep it clean by brushing it.
When you brush your teeth, get up there
and brush it really good.
And you're gonna talk funny for a couple days.
You really shouldn't have any discomfort,
it just feels weird.
- Alright. - [Fran] Okay?
You might have a little bit of tightness,
but it shouldn't be much of anything.
- Alright.
- [Dad] (giggling)
- It feels so weird!
- [Dad] Do you hate it?
- I don't hate it, but it feels weird.
- [Dad] Alright.
- It's bigger than I thought.
How am I gonna do gymnastics tonight?
- [Dad] Because of the pain or because of the drool?
- (garbled speech)
- (laughing) Because my tongue
doesn't go on the roof of my mouth.
I can't swallow.
- [Dad] We'll get you a drool bucket.
- How it feels.
This is smaller than my real teeth.
- [Dad] Say real teeth again.
- Real teeth.
I'm gonna get it right.
You need to keep me talking so I can practice.
- [Dad] Let's make up a tongue twister with Ts.
There it is right there, tongue twister with Ts.
- Tongue twister with Ts.
- [Dad] Tom Thumb takes two Tylenols twice on Tuesday.
- Tom Thumb?
Tom Thumb takes two Tylenols on Tuesday nights.
On Tuesdays.
- [Dad] Good.
(upbeat music)