Braces for one tooth??? (Long, sorry)

[indimom]

Dentists/Orthodontists/Dental Experts, I need advice.

Our daughter is nearly 14. She has always had nice straight teeth. (Honestly, they look great.) But, she has one molar on the upper left (tooth 14? I think) that the baby tooth is still trying to work it's way out (in pieces, yuck, but the dentist said this was fine). There is an adult tooth behind the baby tooth according to x-rays. We've been watching this tooth for quite awhile with no change. A few weeks ago, the dentist finally referred us to an orthodontist.

The orthodontist says she needs braces (top and bottom) for 18 months. She wants to do the bottom because she claims nine of the teeth are slightly twisted. Honestly, I can only visually see one (in the back) that looks slightly turned to me??)

She says the adult tooth that is stuck will not come through unless we make space for it with a full set of braces (an expander won't work??) and we can't leave it as is because the adult tooth will not allow the jaw bone to grow right. And, if she needs work later in life, there will be no bone to anchor anything to.
I have no issue with the advice (she is my son's ortho and we've always been happy with her), but I'm wondering if braces are really the only option we have. Obviously, it would be her suggestion since that is her area of expertise.

I guess what I'm wondering is, can we just remove what's left of the baby tooth and remove the adult molar (just like you would Wisdom Teeth). Yes her teeth will shift slightly once they're out, but it's a small, small space that the partial baby tooth takes up, and I can't see her teeth going horribly crooked if we did this.

Is removing the molar a bad idea?? Is there something I'm missing?? I know people who were just "missing" adult teeth and none of them seem to have any problem being short one tooth. I am having a hard time imagining putting an entire set of braces on my daughter's teeth for this one molar.

We are considering talking to the dentist again or calling another ortho, but I thought I'd check in with the DisDocs before I make the call. If there is an obvious reason NOT to do this, we'll just stick with the ortho we like. Thanks in advance.

 

[seashoreCM]

If only one tooth needs to be straightened then braces are needed for several teeth or even the entire mouth because the braces have to distribute more evenly among all more of the teeth than just the ones neighboring.

Braces are needed both top and bottom because top and bottom had vahj have to match and mesh. Shifting just the top will cause not make not cause a new mesh to developt later.

 

[POOHS3]

I am surprised they didn't pull the baby tooth awhile ago, to see if it would help the adult tooth to come in.

My niece had to get braces, frankly they looked pretty good to me. She only wore them for 11months,but still cost 5500. (same as my daughter will wear hers for 2 years)

My two boys just had adult teeth, toward the front side pulled. The orthodontist said they had to many teeth for the size of their jaw.

It would not hurt to get a 2nd opinion at another practice. Good Luck

 

[lchadwick]

I had an impacted canine (in the roof of my mouth) and at 17 it was decided I needed braces, the baby toothe to be pulled, and surgery to expose the tooth and make a canal for it. I had tops and bottoms for just shy of 2 years. I know it seems like a lot for one tooth.

 

[cricketgirl]

I had one crooked tooth. Had to wear upper and lower braces for 2 1/2 years. This was at age 33. I honestly didn't think any other teeth would be effected however I can now see the difference. Samoe slight gaps closed up. Never really knew they were gaps. Get another opinion. We did.

Good luck!!

 

[angierae]

I would get a 2nd opinion, but I agree with everyone here that if you fuss with the top, you'll also have to fuss with the bottom because the bite has to match. Your teeth come down together in a certain way so they fit together, and if you start moving around the top ones, the bottom ones will not match.

Also, missing one adult tooth -can- be a problem. When I thought I was going to lose a back molar, my dentist told me that I could get an implant, or face losing the corresponding tooth because your teeth push against each other and if you are missing a bottom tooth, the top one will eventually come loose and have to be removed as well.

(I basically said if he couldn't save the tooth, pull it, and if I had to have the top tooth pulled eventually, that was fine, too. I was not paying for an implant for a very back molar.)

 

[riley2008]

Dentists/Orthodontists/Dental Experts, I need advice.

Our daughter is nearly 14. She has always had nice straight teeth. (Honestly, they look great.) But, she has one molar on the upper left (tooth 14? I think) that the baby tooth is still trying to work it's way out (in pieces, yuck, but the dentist said this was fine). There is an adult tooth behind the baby tooth according to x-rays. We've been watching this tooth for quite awhile with no change. A few weeks ago, the dentist finally referred us to an orthodontist.

The orthodontist says she needs braces (top and bottom) for 18 months. She wants to do the bottom because she claims nine of the teeth are slightly twisted. Honestly, I can only visually see one (in the back) that looks slightly turned to me??)

She says the adult tooth that is stuck will not come through unless we make space for it with a full set of braces (an expander won't work??) and we can't leave it as is because the adult tooth will not allow the jaw bone to grow right. And, if she needs work later in life, there will be no bone to anchor anything to.
I have no issue with the advice (she is my son's ortho and we've always been happy with her), but I'm wondering if braces are really the only option we have. Obviously, it would be her suggestion since that is her area of expertise.

I guess what I'm wondering is, can we just remove what's left of the baby tooth and remove the adult molar (just like you would Wisdom Teeth). Yes her teeth will shift slightly once they're out, but it's a small, small space that the partial baby tooth takes up, and I can't see her teeth going horribly crooked if we did this.

Is removing the molar a bad idea?? Is there something I'm missing?? I know people who were just "missing" adult teeth and none of them seem to have any problem being short one tooth. I am having a hard time imagining putting an entire set of braces on my daughter's teeth for this one molar.

We are considering talking to the dentist again or calling another ortho, but I thought I'd check in with the DisDocs before I make the call. If there is an obvious reason NOT to do this, we'll just stick with the ortho we like. Thanks in advance.

This could have been posted by my mother 20+ years ago! I ended up with the braces for just shy of 2 years. (I didn't wear the head-gear like I was supposed to do.) Hindsight - not sure if it was really "worth it" or not. At 40 my teeth are more crooked now than ever, albeit not terribly noticeable at all -quit wearing my retainers too early apparently. (Now they make you wear then for much longer.)

My mother chose to braces for me as she felt my teeth were "good" - still to this day no cavities. (Not sure what she would had done if I were cavity prone)

Good luck on this decision. If you and DD decide for braces make her wear her retainer until age 30 at least! (Maybe not that long, but you get my drift)

 

[MSSANDRA]

It sounds right but if you are uncomfortable get a 2nd opinion.

 

[gottaluvPluto]

My daughter has straight teeth, however, her bite is not in alignment so she will need braces. Is her bite off as well as one tooth? Having a miss aligned bite can cause the teeth to wear down which will cause problems when she is older.

 

[HM]

My daughter had two adult teeth that would never have come in if we hadn't put her in braces. She just didn't have enough room for them. She had her braces for about 30 months, the first six were to make space and for the new teeth to work their way in and then the rest were to get the teeth all lined up properly.

 

[Karen_DisneyFan]

Tooth #14 is a 6-year molar... it's the first "adult" molar to come in. It would be very hard to have a proper bite if she lost that tooth. There may be other teeth that are out of alignment and that's why the Ortho said braces are in order. The teeth have to align top to bottom and front to back to make sure she doesn't have bite issues (pain, cracking, TMJ) as she gets older.

It probably wouldn't hurt to get another opinion, but if you feel she's been honest and a good Ortho for your son, I would trust her and get the braces for your daughter.

 

[indimom]

Thanks everyone, you've made me feel a lot better about this. It seems there is a reason why no one mentioned pulling the tooth as an option. I don't want to do anything that will cause problems later.

It's a pity we didn't know about this sooner though. I really didn't anticipate another $4,500 in dental costs...

 

[ceecee]

My daughter had horizonally impacted bicuspids, the baby teeth were pulled two years earlier than she normally would have lost them and the permanents came down on their own. I work in the dental field so I had an xray taken on her and then did an ortho consult right away. #14 is a first molar and an important tooth...get another consultation with an orthodontist, they usually don't charge for that. I just wonder why your general dentist didn't notice this?

 

[MK2thcleaner]

I don't think you're talking about #14 unless I'm confused. Indeed 14 is a molar, what we call a 6yr molar because you get it at about age six. This molar DOES NOT "push out" a baby tooth. It erupts behind the last baby molar. So my guess is that it's a PREmolar aka bicuspid that won't erupt.

It would not be a good idea to just pull the teeth and leave the space. With a space there, the teeth behind the space will want to tilt forward and lean into the space setting the stage for poor occlusion and gum disease in the future.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[angwill]

I had similar where a baby pushed the permenant tooth back behind the other teeth and when the baby was pulled it stayed behind. My parents were told I needed a full set of braces by two orthos so they decided to leave it the way it was. A couple years ago my dentist said if that tooth bothered me that he could pull it forward where it belonged with only 6 braces and $600. I told him what the other orthos said and he said a full set was not needed especially on the bottom which was not a problem and that there was no need for even the full set on top. I took him up on the offer. He did exactly as he said in a years time. It did nothing to mess up my bottom teeth and I don't even need a retainer. Everything is now in place and I am glad I got it done and that I met my dentist who is honest and looking out for the best interest of his patient.

 

[golfgal]

Another thing to think about is that by doing braces now, it helps stabilize the teeth (with retainers, etc.) so they don't shift or don't shift as much later in life. DD16's teeth were straight, she had some crowding with some teeth and gaps with others and her bite was off a bit. If you looked at her you would have thought she already had braces, unless you looked closely. The ortho left it up to her if she wanted them or not but did say as an adult she would probably need them. My sister just got her's off yesterday from once having straight teeth as a teen and young adult to having teeth that shifted horribly in her late 30's early 40's.