Ortho wants teeth extractions

[dyna]

Lisa it was not near as bad as it sounds at least not for DD who seems to have a very high tolerance for pain. We made the normal monthly visits to the ortho did not have broken wires an etc to deal with an DD ate pretty much anything she wanted.

When DD had her gums cut away from teeth it sounded so very painful to me but she NEVER COMPLAINED an ate that whole pound of 1 inch pretzel rods the very next day. I was shocked to hear she had ate them she was babysitting neighbors an when I talked to the neighbor lady a couple days later she was shocked as well.

 

[dismom2-3]

My daughter just had some extractions and was given laughing gas (nitrous). She was begging for food and to go play baseball twenty minutes after arriving home. I would say that she did fine. The primary teeth were removed to make room for the next set, one of which was protruding from the roof of her mouth because the primary tooth was not coming out. It has been three weeks, and it already is growing into the proper spot, and the ortho. will but a bracket on it next week, to further its progress.

My daughter already had the expander, which she only wanted Tylenol for once or twice. She really just complained about getting food stuck. She was 8. I really think that she did so well with it because she is young, and the jaw is more flexible at the younger age.

I am curious,(although I know you dont trust the ortho you spoke to the other day) why you are having such a hard time with taking out a few primary teeth? I know from my own personal experience, and now watching my daughter, that they have learned quite a bit about "timing". I had a similar problem to my daughter and had several years of painful treatment and I am watching her sail through. She cries horribly over a paper cut, but not a peep hardly about her teeth. My ortho. seems to think that if we move things along a little when she is younger, her second phase of treatment will be fairly short and will be "mostly" cosmetic. Why wait if they think that the teeth are there and are ready to move into place, and you are only waiting for the primarys to fall out? I would only think that it will speed his treatment along. ( I am amazed how fast these teeth have come in, filling the holes) I am not criticizing, just posing a question that may help you put it into perspective for yourself.

As a side note, on extractions...I needed to have several permanant teeth removed due to overcrowding. It caused TMJ problems. Nothing major, but occasional discomfort. It is my understanding from listening to the dentist and ortho. that because so many children are having this two phase with expander treatment done, as is your son, that they are able to prevent the removal of too many permanant teeth, causing jaw problems later in life. I would not sweat the removal of primary teeth and just feel better that you are possibly preventing your son from problems later. Good Luck with your decision and don't worry too much. You are trying to do the best for your son, and that is most important thing.

 

[amsafko]

My dd7 was what we've been told by both our dentist and ortho as "dentally mature". She began losing teeth at 4. We just had 2 teeth extracted a few weeks ago via novacaine. The shots werer the only things that hurt. She laughed at how easy the teeth came out. I asked the dentist about which they use, gas or shots, and they said it's really up to the dentist but they prefer shots.

She needs spacers, actually just got them this week. She had adult teeth pushing through in places they shouldn't (they did explain everything very thoroughly and I felt comfortable with our choice). The way their were coming in was going to actually damage the other adult teeth. Oh, and she was experiencing some pain with them in the past few months.

But this is your choice and you have to be happy with it. If you aren't happy, feel free to try another ortho to see what their opinions are, and also discuss other options besides gas.

 

[MDTerrapin]

My 8 year old is having 5 baby teeth pulled next week. We are doing it as an outpatient procedure in the hospital. His baby teeth are not falling out and the adult teeth are growing behind. We decided to do it all at once versus going back and forth.

On a budget note it will only cost us 230.00!

Karen

 

[eeyorethegreat]

This is an interesting thread as I took ds 11.5 to the Ortho just yesterday. His issue isn't a small mouth though, so no expanders and that. I am still not up on all the terms but what I am told is this shouldn't be a difficult process (I suppose that will be a matter of opinion). He still does have baby teeth but the teeth he want to use as anchors are permanent. He said he doesn't pull unless he absolutely has to and that he would like to see the baby teeth fall out on their own. If they are very stubborn then he will pull but he doesn't expect that to have to happen. We are waiting on the lower braces until a few more of those baby teeth fall out but he said that he could get the uppers as soon as next month. Supposedly a two year process then retainer or maybe it is two year with retainer. All the info was a bit overwhelming. The next appointment we get the molds done and we will talk more extensively then. I'll probably have more questions by then too!!

A question to those who have kids on the autistic spectrum- how traumatic have the procedures been DS is a high funtioning Aspie and I expect he will do well so long as he is informed of what is going to or is happening but he does have sensory issues so I am just wondering if the appliances will make him . I guess he will get used to it like any other non aspie kid would. Any advice on what I should prepare him for?

 

[Arielle22]

My 8 year old is having 5 baby teeth pulled next week. We are doing it as an outpatient procedure in the hospital. His baby teeth are not falling out and the adult teeth are growing behind. We decided to do it all at once versus going back and forth.

On a budget note it will only cost us 230.00!

Karen

DD14 was about your son's age when she told me "look I have 2 sets of teeth". Sure enough her adult teeth had come in behind her baby teeth. I think overall only 2 of her baby teeth fell out on their own. The rest had to be pulled. At one point she said she looked like a shark because she had so many teeth!

She had no problems with the palate expander except that the dentist nicked her when putting it in so she had a cut in her mouth. Her first set of braces was on the top only as she had problems eating since her teeth were so misaligned. She is on her second set with full braces which will last another 12months.

DD14 has had the retainer and space holders as well.

DD16 also has braces which should come off in 6 months. She has had impacted teeth which required surgery.

OP, both my dds use the nitrous gas. They even pick out what flavor to smell. Neither has felt a thing during the procedures.

I have one sister who is very successful but has crooked teeth. Not horendous but noticeable. She regrets that our parents could not afford braces for her. This is one of the reasons I am willing to put my dds through all the dental work.

 

[contemporarymom]

If he gets picked on, why not address the rude kids?

Of course he doesn't have room, he's only 7. He's not full grown yet. His face is not as big as it's going to be when he's 20.

Listen, they said the same nonsense to my mom when I was 9. I had 4 permanent teeth taken out, palate nonsense (torture...do you guys KNOW how much those things HURT?????), braces...

My teeth looked just the same as they did before.

And I have SCADS of room in the back of my gums. Why? Because they didn't wait for my face to grow to adult size. Nonsense. Ridiculous.

It helps them get immediate results so people are happy paying thousands for them. And by the time the kid is grown up enough to know what nonsense it was, the adults are out of the kid's healthcare aspect, and the kid probably doesn't tell the parent b/c what's the point? I know I didn't. My mom paid the earth, and she did so b/c the ortho scared her and b/c my dad was a jerk who made her do EVERYTHING with the fear of custody battle hanging over her, and what would be the point of making her feel bad for treating my small face and jaw as though it was adult size?


OP, I know that if DS faces something like that, I'm waiting. If kids tease, I'll address the rude kids and their parents. I was teased a lot b/c I was very shy...I dealt with it. Until one time I had enough, and I told on the girl...she was suspended for what she was doing (verbal teasing and being physical) for a couple days, and she NEVER came near me, nor spoke to me, again. I wish I had told on all the others, too. Rude kids will be rude unless they are taught to not be, and altering our childrens' appearances so that rude people won't have anything to be rude about is NOT the way to do it, IMO.


(man do I dislike orthodontia...)

(I also have a child who lost one baby tooth at 6 months old, then had to have two baby teeth extracted at 2 years old, and I know what it's like to see big gaps where teeth should be, and it hurt...DS is 5 now and is finally noticing the gaps where his canines were, and it bugs him, and I can't wait for his permanent teeth to grow in. I just can't see pulling them on purpose as a child...let them make the decision, and pay for their decision, about their teeth once they are adult.)

Is there anyone in the medical field that you do like? Post after post you malign everyone in the medical profession from gynecologists to internists and now orthodontists. With all the horrific experiences you've encountered I hope you have a good attorney, because you must have made a fortune in malpractice.

I'm curious. Besides claiming to at one time being a chiropractor, do you have any medical background? You never hesitate to give out advice and share an alleged horror story. Plus, the advice you give is not only medically wrong most of the time, but downright dangerous.

I'm sorry for the rant, but I'm really worried that someone my take you seriously and wind up suffering greatly due to your "medical" advice.

That said, I just made the appointment for my thirteen year old to start phase two of his braces. He had to have three teeth pulled when he was ten because of over crowding. He made it through just fine with nitrous oxide. It was worse on me than him.

 

[mjkacmom]

Is there anyone in the medical field that you do like? Post after post you malign everyone in the medical profession from gynecologists to internists and now orthodontists. With all the horrific experiences you've encountered I hope you have a good attorney, because you must have made a fortune in malpractice.

I'm curious. Besides claiming to at one time being a chiropractor, do you have any medical background? You never hesitate to give out advice and share an alleged horror story. Plus, the advice you give is not only medically wrong most of the time, but downright dangerous.

I'm sorry for the rant, but I'm seriously worried that someone my take you seriously and wind up suffering greatly due to your "medical" advice.

That said I just made the appointment for my thirteen year old to start phase two of his braces. He had to have three teeth pulled when he was ten because of over crowding. He made it through just fine with nitrous oxide. It was worse on me than him.

I think she just wants an excuse not to pay for her child's braces. I'm so thankful my parents got them for me - I only have 26 teeth in my mouth due to extractions, and there is no more room. I can't imagine what my smile would like without braces!

 

[disneygals]

My dd15 is slow to lose teeth and I didn't want her to have braces well into high school, so when she was 13 and still had eleven! baby teeth we had ten pulled over time and one fell out on it's own. Hopefully the braces are coming off this Oct.

My dd 13 had eye teeth and molars pulled a couple of years ago because x-rays showed the teeth were going to come in way crooked and try and grow into other adult teeth for the molars or high on her gums for the eye teeth.

 

[purplebelle]

The orthodontist I saw years ago waited for the last of my baby teeth to fall out but by 12 y/o I still had 7 teeth left. He gave plenty of time but they weren't budging so it was time to pull since many orthos like getting braces on during the tween years. So I had several shots of novecain in my gums and 4 teeth were pulled one day and 3 a week later. It was somewhat painful but what was more traumatic was my baby teeth were stubborn and still had their long roots and were holding on for dear life. The sound of teeth twisting in gums and the force upon my jaw was very upsetting to me. BUT...I did survive and felt cool as a 12 y/o that I handled such a big task and have very nice teeth today. It's worth it. 10 doesn't sound too young.

 

[tlens]

If he gets picked on, why not address the rude kids?

Of course he doesn't have room, he's only 7. He's not full grown yet. His face is not as big as it's going to be when he's 20.

Listen, they said the same nonsense to my mom when I was 9. I had 4 permanent teeth taken out, palate nonsense (torture...do you guys KNOW how much those things HURT?????), braces...

My teeth looked just the same as they did before.

And I have SCADS of room in the back of my gums. Why? Because they didn't wait for my face to grow to adult size. Nonsense. Ridiculous.

It helps them get immediate results so people are happy paying thousands for them. And by the time the kid is grown up enough to know what nonsense it was, the adults are out of the kid's healthcare aspect, and the kid probably doesn't tell the parent b/c what's the point? I know I didn't. My mom paid the earth, and she did so b/c the ortho scared her and b/c my dad was a jerk who made her do EVERYTHING with the fear of custody battle hanging over her, and what would be the point of making her feel bad for treating my small face and jaw as though it was adult size?


OP, I know that if DS faces something like that, I'm waiting. If kids tease, I'll address the rude kids and their parents. I was teased a lot b/c I was very shy...I dealt with it. Until one time I had enough, and I told on the girl...she was suspended for what she was doing (verbal teasing and being physical) for a couple days, and she NEVER came near me, nor spoke to me, again. I wish I had told on all the others, too. Rude kids will be rude unless they are taught to not be, and altering our childrens' appearances so that rude people won't have anything to be rude about is NOT the way to do it, IMO.


(man do I dislike orthodontia...)

(I also have a child who lost one baby tooth at 6 months old, then had to have two baby teeth extracted at 2 years old, and I know what it's like to see big gaps where teeth should be, and it hurt...DS is 5 now and is finally noticing the gaps where his canines were, and it bugs him, and I can't wait for his permanent teeth to grow in. I just can't see pulling them on purpose as a child...let them make the decision, and pay for their decision, about their teeth once they are adult.)

That surprises me, since you have previously stated your mom was in the CIA working in counter-intelligence, that she would be so easily intimidated by an orthodontist.

OP, I would tend to trust those who are educated in the field and not take someone's perceived experiences as fact.

 

[aprilgail2]

My dd7 was what we've been told by both our dentist and ortho as "dentally mature". She began losing teeth at 4. We just had 2 teeth extracted a few weeks ago via novacaine. The shots werer the only things that hurt. She laughed at how easy the teeth came out. I asked the dentist about which they use, gas or shots, and they said it's really up to the dentist but they prefer shots.

.

My daughter started losing hers early- she lost 2 on her 5th birthday! She is now nine and got braces in Jan- best thing we could have ever done. Her teeth stuck out and she was at the point where she didn't want to smile because she was embarrased about her teeth- 7 months later and her teeth look great, no where near done but now its just an overbite rather than bucky. She has 2 baby teeth left in her mouth (none were pulled they all fell out on their own) and those 2 are loose and almost ready to fall out.

Is there anyone in the medical field that you do like? Post after post you malign everyone in the medical profession from gynecologists to internists and now orthodontists. With all the horrific experiences you've encountered I hope you have a good attorney, because you must have made a fortune in malpractice.

I'm curious. Besides claiming to at one time being a chiropractor, do you have any medical background? You never hesitate to give out advice and share an alleged horror story. Plus, the advice you give is not only medically wrong most of the time, but downright dangerous.

I'm sorry for the rant, but I'm really worried that someone my take you seriously and wind up suffering greatly due to your "medical" advice.

I am amazed when I read some of the nonsense she spews- I am hoping that she is just saying it for attention here and doesn't live up to it!!
The only "Dr's" she "believes" in are the ones I think are the biggest quacks ever-chiropractor

 

[TiggerStac]

well my oldest got his expander in today, so far so good. he said it's a little uncomfy, but he doesn't need tylenol.

The only thing he said to me is that he's talking funny. Go back in 2 weeks to check out how it's going and could stabalize or give it another week.

 

[mamalle]

Im just curious since dd is in phase 1 now- no teeth need pulled but is your dental insurance paying for the extractions? just wondering if they considered it necessary or something comestic? we have great dental insurance and they cover extractions at 100% but I often wonder what the policy is when it comes to pulling teeth and braces..

 

[firsttimer2007]

I've seen posts before regarding dentists and orthodontists, so I'm hoping to get some advice. My son is 10 and is in Phase 1 of orthodontic work. Had a palate expander, now just a retainer on top and then the wire on the bottom holding space. There's two bottom teeth the ortho says he wants out. I'm a little leary on two fronts. I guess I'm just naturally skeptical. First, should I trust that it must be done now, or wait until they come out on their own? And second, the dentist told me they use gas -- forget which kind -- when they do the extractions. How safe is this? Looking for those whose kids have had a similar path and can offer advice.

I took my DS to the orthodontist since he has all kinds of problems with his teeth. He has been to several orthodontist only two wanted to pull teeth. My question was

WHY does the ortho need to pull teeth to straighten them. If you pull teeth then there is no need for the ortho. they will straighten themselves out. The reason they are crooked is because there is NO room. If you pull teeth then you make room. Problem solved. It seems to me that pulling teeth is the quick and easy way to "fix" peoples teeth.

My DM had her teeth pulled when she was a kid. Later in life she had braces again, this time she had a gap where her tooth was pulled. She now has a bridge to fill in the gap.

 

[LeslieG]

I'm the original poster, and just wanted to share an update. We were back to the orthodontist today, because my son's retainer was poking his gums. He needed to have it adjusted. Luckily, the orthodontist I like was there. I asked if the suggested removal of two lower eye teeth was cosmetic. He said no, that the baby teeth were not allowing the permanent teeth to come in. My son has a routine cleaning at his pediatric dentist next month, so I will ask him what he thinks about the difficulty of the removal and his opinion on the need.

I guess my problem with doing it is that I know there are different schools of thought among orthodontists about extractions, and it seems to depend who you ask. It leaves me with having to make a decision based on what I feel is best, and I want to educate myself so I can make the best decision.

I hate the thought of putting my son through something that really isn't necessary.

 

[AnneR]

Funny the timing of this thread. My youngest daughter had her last two baby teeth extracted yesterday. She has been in braces for about 10 months. Our orthodontist tries to work around. The problem was that her permanent teeth just came in inside of her baby teeth. Hopefully, now they will have the chance to move closer to the correct spot. They are at an angle almost at the roof her mouth.

Because they were really ready to come out, it was not really painful just a lot of typical 12 year old drama. She did have novacaine which for her was the absolute worst that thing could happen, losing the teeth was not a big deal. She was right as rain in less than two hours.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

I think doing braces that early isn't going to help any. THey want my son in ortho and he is 10, they already pulled two baby teeth that wouldn't fall out and fused to the jaw and that was fine. They want to pull two more and start him now and I think it's too early. I talked to a few other people that have had ortho work or their kids had ortho work this week and it was too early and didn't help at all so I'm waiting.

 

[Coll0610]

Like a PP, my DS has also been described as "dentally mature". He lost his first tooth shortly after his 5th birthday. I don't know if this would work for you, but you might try making a trip to Disneyworld. DS lost teeth there on 2 separate visits. And that would be budget-friendly too. You get the teeth out for free with the Disney trip!

 

[TiggerStac]

I think doing braces that early isn't going to help any. THey want my son in ortho and he is 10, they already pulled two baby teeth that wouldn't fall out and fused to the jaw and that was fine. They want to pull two more and start him now and I think it's too early. I talked to a few other people that have had ortho work or their kids had ortho work this week and it was too early and didn't help at all so I'm waiting.

With my son we are working on his jaw now, the braces for real will be when he's around 11. this phase one is about 18 months of braces on top and putting expander in...and spacers on bottom, pulling a couple teeth, but that's the jaw phase. He has had teeth on top that fell out long long ago and there is no place for the big teeth to come in. He has a lot that we need to do.

He wasn't even 100% sure if he'd need braces for real or not when we originally met with him, but now that more teeth have come in, he believes he will.