Anyone's Ortho recommend extractions..........

[tnich]

but you don't think you need them?

I had braces once before 15 years ago and had several teeth extracted then. 4 years ago I had my wisdom teeth removed and now my teeth are shifting/crowding. They were straight for over 10 years. I don't understand why I would need teeth removed now. If I had room for them to be straight with my wisdom teeth in, shouldn't I have plenty of room now that they are out???

[socksy]

You should definitely get more consultations and see what other doctors recommend. Many of us here got differing recommendations from different orthos - I was told by one that I would definitely need extractions, from two that they weren't sure, and from one that I wouldn't need them. I considered each opinion and decided not to go the extractions route - although many adult ortho patients do have extractions and end up totally satisfied with the result.

[bluegirl]

Yep - I'd also suggest a second (or third) opinion! Maybe they'll all say the same thing but perhaps one will offer a choice that you like.

[Susy]

I went to 4 orthos and got 6 plans, the number of extractions went from 0 (with surgery) to 5 (I had 3 extractions some years ago). all said I needed a particular tooth removed (unless I had surgery) . If you don't feel sure, go to more consults until you're ok with your decision

[junkee]

i went to 5 ortho's. 1 said 4 extractions, 2 said most likely but not sure, 2 said no extractions. I went with no extractions. I figure that if i got the teeth pulled out there was no going back. If the non-extraction method was not working then i could always reconsider. I'm very happy with my choice and could not believe i actually very seriously considered ortho #1 at one point.

[drrick]

but you don't think you need them?

I had braces once before 15 years ago and had several teeth extracted then. 4 years ago I had my wisdom teeth removed and now my teeth are shifting/crowding. They were straight for over 10 years. I don't understand why I would need teeth removed now. If I had room for them to be straight with my wisdom teeth in, shouldn't I have plenty of room now that they are out???

It is possible that the first round of ortho should have been extraction. Your teeth may have been in an unstable position for long term stability (a late growth spurt can also be a culprit). Your teeth naturally migrate toward the front of your mouth (it is called mesial migration) and as your facial tissues get tighter and tighter over time this collapses the jaws inward. All of this makes the arc of the jaw narrower. Your teeth arent getting narrower so your teeth have nothing to do but crowd up again. Also, that is one of the reasons why "lifetime" retention is often recommended.The wisdom teeth have little to now effect on this. It is an old wives tale that the wisdom teeth coming in crowd the teeth. The did research studies on people who were congenitally missing wisdom teeth and they had the same amount of mesial migration and crowding than those who had their wisdom teeth. You cant really use the space from wisdom teth extraction to align the front teeth (just like you cant use space in your attic to add square footage to your family room)

Many have mentioned how doc 1 gave this plan, doc 2 gave that plan, etc. If you go to 25 consults you are likely to get 25 different solutions. All could be right. There are many acceptable solutions to a given problem. You do need to find the doc you are most comfortable with of course but again tere are many right answers.

Hope this helped.