MIND Procedure Post-Expansion Checkup: How My Breathing Changed (Dr. Coppelson Q&A)

📍 JOURNEY CONTEXT I'm 36 years old and I've dealt with breathing problems, sleep apnea, and forward head posture for most of my life. I'm documenting my full jaw expansion journey using the MIND procedure (Minimally Invasive Nasal Distraction) — a midface and upper jaw (maxilla) expansion designed to open up my nasal airways and finally let me breathe through my nose. My medical team is Dr. Tim Yu at Face Focused (Orthodontist) and Dr. Kevin Coppelson (Surgeon). We're using Angel Aligners on a 5-day tray cycle, aligning and expanding at the same time to shorten overall treatment time. This video is my checkup with Dr. Coppelson, filmed the day after my metal arms came out. He inspected my mouth to confirm the expansion was symmetrical, and I asked him a ton of questions I think you'll find really informative. Quick heads up: my mic died before the meeting, so I did my best to enhance the audio — you should still be able to hear everything. ⏱️ TIMELINE 📅 February 17 — Surgery date (start of expansion / distraction phase) 📅 ~7 months — Expansion phase complete (~7mm, symmetric) 📅 Day before this video — Metal expander arms removed 📅 Now — Consolidation phase begins (bone fuses in its new position) 📅 4–6 months (he errs on 6) — MARPE stays in as a "cast," then everything gets removed 📅 Later this month — Zoom call with Dr. Coppelson and Dr. Yu to review the full CBCT scan 📅 After that — Refinement/alignment to perfect the bite + myofunctional therapy 💬 WHAT I EXPERIENCED 🦷 I'm now in the consolidation phase — the expander sits on the roof of my mouth like a cast, holding the two halves of bone rigidly in place while it fills in and fuses. This takes about 4–6 months. 🦷 The screws are 1.8mm and extremely rigid — Dr. Coppelson has never seen this type unravel, so no need to baby it while eating. When the appliance eventually comes out, the tiny screw holes heal in just a few days thanks to the mouth's strong blood supply. 😮‍💨 The big number: my posterior airway space grew by roughly 30% — and that's WITH the MARPE still taking up room. Once it's removed, my tongue can sit up and forward where it belongs, which should open the posterior airway even more (a "second boost"). 🦷 We measured intermolar width, skeletal width, and nasal cavity width. Dr. Coppelson called it a symmetric, "10 out of 10" result and credited Dr. Yu's orthodontia for keeping the front-teeth gap minimal — most people expanding 7mm walk around looking like they're missing a front tooth. 🦷 My bite isn't functional yet — no even contact on the left side. That's expected. Expansion aims for "gross symmetry" first (getting things on the fairway); the precise, tooth-by-tooth refinement comes next with Dr. Yu. 🦷 Why they don't over-expand: the upper arch is limited by the lower arch. Over-expanding the top would leave me without a functional bite forever. Ideal intermolar width for a male is around 38–42mm, and I got there without needing lower-jaw surgery. 😮‍💨 Breathing is night and day — I breathe easily all the time, sleep deeper, wake up refreshed, and the sleep apnea symptoms (arousals, poor sleep quality) are gone. 💧 Bonus I keep noticing: my lips aren't chronically chapped anymore now that I'm nose breathing instead of mouth breathing. ⚠️ One honest side effect: I had aggressive turbinate reduction on my left side during a deviated septum surgery at 22. Now that I breathe so well, airflow can feel uneven — sometimes too much on one side, with more sensitivity. Dr. Coppelson explained aggressive turbinectomies can affect the nerves inside the nose. It's something to experiment with, but I'd still do this procedure 10 times over. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 MIND procedure follow-up with Dr. Kevin Coppelson 0:58 Consolidation phase: bone healing and expander removal timeline 2:09 Can the expander screw move while eating? 3:01 What happens to the screw holes after removal? 4:00 Less food trapping after removing the metal arms 4:18 When to start myofunctional therapy 5:04 Airway measurements and tongue space after expansion 6:47 Checking my 7 mm expansion and symmetry 7:17 How aligners helped keep my front tooth gap small 8:21 My uneven bite and the next stage of orthodontic refinement 10:32 Why we’re stopping expansion and how the lower jaw limits it 11:52 Discussing my intermolar width and treatment goals 12:50 Planning a before-and-after CBCT scan review 13:24 My breathing improvements and no more chapped lips 13:54 Previous turbinate surgery and nasal sensitivity 15:43 Would I do MIND again? My sleep and breathing changes