Metal Mouth Message Board

This is my first post/question to the site; I tried searching but didn't see anything relevant to my question so hopefully I'm not repeating something that's already been answered. When I initially got my upper braces on my ortho. advised I may have to have 4 teeth extracted. On my first adjustement on this past Thursday he advised on my next visit we would discuss the extractions and possible teeth shaving. My question is has anyone ever had I'm assuming your back teeth shaved to make room for your bottom teeth's movement. I have crowding on my bottom teeth. If so what has been your experience, to me it sounds okay as long as my teeth don't end up looking wierd, because I'm sure its cheaper than extractions.

Upper Metal Braces April 28, 2006
First Adjustment June 22, 2006
Bottom Metal Braces August 3, 2006

Hi Sagii. When the spacers put between my upper back left teeth did not move my molars, the orthodontist shaved the area to make room for a bracket around my first molar. I have also had the area between my upper and lower front teeth shaved to remove some of the black triangle that appeared as the teeth were moved.

That is also the way that I would have had room made, had I gone the Invisalign route - but I chose braces instead.

Good luck to you on your journey.

Thanks for your insight Attagirl2. I think I found the correct terminology I was looking for. The procedure is called interproximal reduction; just from reading a few articles on it, it doesn't seem that bad.

You are correct, you can search for "IPR" and may find more information. Basically a small amount of enamel is removed from the side of each tooth. Typically it is only done in the anterior segment, but can be performed on all teeth. It is a valid option for creating space as opposed to an extraction. Some possible side effects include tooth sensitivity, improper shaping causing an unaesthetic look of the tissue between teeth, creating a ledge that traps plaque putting you at higher risk for decay, etc. There should be plenty of information out there with a search. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

Best,
Rory

Thanks for your response rsprouse. I think my ortho. mentioned the IPR method because he said that my top teeth are pretty much already straight. I personally would rather us do that than the extractions, but I know in the end he knows best so I will keep everyone updated.


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Upper Metal Braces April 28, 2006
First Adjustment June 22, 2006
Bottom Metal Braces August 3, 2006

My ortho's planning on using IPR for my lower arch Sagii, though I'm not sure which teeth he's intending to involve or when.

I had two bicuspids extracted from the upper arch to make room to retract overjet. Personally I wonder if IPR will be able to make enough room but I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Good luck with your treatment

Yes, I think the word "shaving" makes it sound bad, but it's really not. I've had this done between a lot of my teeth and have managed to avoid extractions so far, despite initial crowding. I have not experienced any oversensitivity in these areas. Like anything, it can be overdone, but if you trust your ortho and he's had plenty of experience with this it should be fine. In my opinion it's lots better than extractions.