3 extractions from top, eek!

[Aviol]

Hi all

I've always been reluctant to go through with extracting healthy teeth, however, having had four consultations and been told by each ortho that extractions from the top would be necessary, I've bitten the bullet and decided to go ahead with treatment.

I'd accepted that I'd need to have a tooth extracted from each side as this is what each preliminary consult told me. My chosen ortho actually said I'd need one, possibly two extractions but since having my model made up and studying it he wants to extract one from the left and two from the right!

Does anyone have any experience of this? Any questions you would recommend I should ask?

These are the concerns I wish to raise with him so far.

1. How will the loss of 3 teeth alter my profile?
2. Will loosing 3 teeth give me a narrow smile?
3. How will this affect treatment time?
4. I'm concerned about closing up such a big gap but not sure why it's bothering me so much more than closing up a smaller one.

I realise that last concern doesn't make much sense, I need to have a good think about it.

Any advice would be much appreciated, this isn't proving to be a straightforward journey, I overcome one hurdle and another comes along pretty much straight away!

[blahhh123]

Hi, I personally need 3 teeth extracted as well, and just got 2 of them extracted last friday. The extractions probably do good to your treatment, so trust your orthodontist, and your smile will come out fabulous!!!!! By the way relax a bit because the only thing that hurts during the extraction is the injection. The actually pulling out did not hurt at all, and when they were done I did not even know. The braces will do their job closing up the gap I believe. Good luck!!! :D

[Aviol]

Thanks so much for your reply, 3 just seems like an awful lot of teeth but hearing that someone else is having 3 removed too does make me feel a little more confident.

Hope you don't mind me asking, but which teeth are you having removed?

Glad to hear that you'd extractions didn't hurt, hope all goes well with your treatment

[blahhh123]

I'm not that sure but I believe its teeth number 5, 21 and 28 Good luck with your treatment too!

[asylumgreen]

I just had three teeth extracted a few days ago - I'm not sure about the numbers, but they were all first premolars. I had one extracted as a kid (crowding issues), and two orthodontists said that if I wanted to correct my overbite I'd have to extract the other three corresponding teeth (the other bottom one and the two on the top), so I went ahead with it.

I was worried about my face changing, but so far it seems ok.

The orthodontist said it would take about six months for the gaps to close, or about 1mm per month. Having the first premolars extracted hasn't been TOO bad - as long as I talk normally and don't open my mouth too wide, you can't even really tell. I will feel better once I get the wire put back over my teeth (at my appointment next week), because I feel like that will help camouflage the gaps a bit (plus start to close them).

So far the extraction sites haven't hurt, but the teeth beside them have - it feels like some kind of nerve pain, but I'm assuming that will subside after awhile.

I was really worried about removing so many teeth (especially having just had all four wisdom teeth extracted last year), but then I thought about it - the bottom quadrant of my mouth (where I had the initial tooth extracted in childhood) is how all quadrants will look in the end - and it looks normal enough, I mean it isn't missing so many teeth as to look weird or lack function in chewing, etc.