Help ??? on tooth removal

[lindalinda]

My 14 yo son"s orthodontist told me he wants to have 2 teeth extracted today. This did not surprise me, I had to have teeth removed when I had braces as a kid. The problem is the teeth he wants to remove. Its his eye teeth, bicuspids, canines, whatever you call them. In other words he would only have 4 front teeth instead of 6 and then his molars would start. Has anyone ever heard of this? Anyone ever seen anyone with teeth like this? When we left the office my son said "please mom dont let them do that to me" I am inclined to agree. Any info would be appreciated.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

Wow. That does seem a little strange.

I'd have to say that those eye-teeth are about the most worthless of all the teeth in my mouth, though.

Have they tried to expand his pallette yet?

 

[DVC Jen]

second opinion? New orthodontist maybe?

My oldest daughter is just coming to a close with her braces ordeal and they have been expanding her pallate forever. Never pulled a single tooth.

 

[hydster]

WOW I would be hesitant to have that done. My 11 yr old DS has had braces for almost a year but we did pallate expansion for 5 months beforehand. He did have to have 4 teeth pulled but they were the furthest back molars. I would seek another opinion before I"d let that Ortho pull those teeth. Since consultations are usually no charge I would definitely get a 2nd opinion before going on with the current Ortho.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

 

[lindalinda]

Yes they did the expander when he was younger about 8 i think. He has had his braces on now < stage 2 i think they call it, the second time now for about a year. This has never been mentioned before, and no problems have been addressed at all. His teeth are healthy, his last trip to the dentist was in december and the dentist said he had healthy teeth. It just seems totally weird to me.

 

[kellydizfan]

My dd has had braces now for 2 years. She started with an expander when she was 7 or 8 can't remember then went to braces when she was 10. When she had the braces put on the expander was added again. Our Orthodontist does not recommend pulling teeth especially in females as it can collapse their cheeks and facial structure. DD did not have any teeth pulled except the baby teeth that refused to come out to make way for the adult teeth behind it. I had several different dentist advise me not to pull adult teeth. I had adult teeth pulled when I had mine when I was 12. After hearing what can happen now - I was not doing that to her if there was that possiblity. We are hoping in the next several months to get them off now that the final tooth is in place.

 

[laurengrant4]

Well, throughout last year I had 12 teeth pulled! Not at the same time though. Right now I am twelve years old and I have had braces for a couple of weeks now. The problem with me is that my jaw is too small! I would say to go on with getting the teeth pulled, they did it to me and it didn't hurt, so I think it would be safe to say to go on with it! In a few years from now your child will have beautiful teeth!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am very surprised to hear they would recommend taking out eye teeth. Once they're gone, you can never get them back again.
They also play a critical role in both appearance and bite. See this article that explains the importance of eye teeth (i.e. cuspids). Personally, I would never allow them to be pulled and I'm sure I'd be seeking out a second and third opinion if necessary, including a consult with a specialist at a major dental school.

http://www.scofsg.com/oral_surgery_tarzana_encino_ca/impacted_canines.html

 

[tiggersmom2]

Well, I am a dental hygienist and we work very closely with many orthodontist in the area. Some of them do not opt to pull the teeth but MOST do (in our area). I have never seen a child have a problem when the teeth are extracted....in fact this makes for a much shorter treatment period. There are even some instances where treatment can not be guaranteed 100% if the teeth are not extracted.

I always suggest a second opinion if you are not comfortable with the treatment plan.....but that is pretty normal here.


ETA: the most commonly extracted tooth is the 2nd bicuspids but I HAVE seen cuspids extracted also.

 

[rascalmom]

I would call the orthodontist's office back & tell them you would like to know what your options are without doing extractions. They may be able to do it, but the total time in braces may be longer & a bit more expensive.

I would also get a second opinion. The extractions are done, but I would try to avoid if you can.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

Pull the canines??? Canines are very important "anchoring" teeth. Are his canines completely out of whack and misaligned with the rest of his teeth? That's what happened to me - two canines came in WAY in front of the rest of the rows of teeth (and no break in the row of teeth where the canines should have been, so no room to move them back). Even in this senario, my ortho pulled my four premolars (teeth next to canines, farther back) and moved the canines into the space. Initially (before I understood orthodontics), I begged the ortho to pull my canines as they were hideous and hard to hide, but he absolutely would never do it - much better to pull the premolars.

My teeth have come along way now - I have no regrets about having extractions. My face looks a million times better now than before. I would get a second opinion or ask for alternatives!

 

[barkley]

well, i braces as a kid and again as an adult. i ended up having the tooth immediatly behind the canine pulled on both sides (as well as the jaw bone above it for tmj surgery).

my orthodontist sent me to a maxiofacial oral surgeon who did a panascan (?) xray of my skull (it goes around the full 360 degrees) so that he could see if my facial structure had completed it's growth, or if future growth needed to be taken into consideration with extractions.

i would cosider seeking a maxiofacial oral surgeon for a consultation.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I too had the pre-molars pulled... I could never imagine pulling the canine eye-teeth!