This is upsetting

[Morgan417]

Soo I have a 9 mm overjet which my orthodontist plans to correct using the "camouflage treatment plan"... Taking out two first bicuspids. They also want to take out 3 of my wisdom teeth and top right second molar . I am already missing three teeth... One wisdom tooth and number 15 and 30.

He wants to make space to put an implant in #30.

First question...
I know that missing teeth leads to bone loss which causes premature aging and makes one's face look sunken in. If I am missing teeth already and then get 6 MORE taken out, is it inevitable that I will look like an elderly woman with no teeth? I want braces to feel more confident with my smile and if that's the end result I don't want to go through with it. I am pretty much scared to death about this.

Second question...
Since my remaining teeth will be moving and I'm assuming will be taking the places of those that were extracted, will there still be bone loss since those bones will eventually be "in use" again? I hope this makes sense... Any advice/similar situations/words of reassurance are welcome!

[sirwired]

You've kind of answered your own question; since the extraction gaps will be filled in with teeth, they do not lead to the bone loss you see with extractions not followed up by an implant or braces. Nobody would ever get extractions if this were the case.

That's not to say that orthodontic extractions always go exactly how the patient expects, but on the whole they turn out well.

[Snowglobe32]

Morgan,

For the previously extracted teeth, the "new" teeth being able to move into those gaps, would depend on how long those teeth have been out.

I lost #18 as a teenager, I was 32 when I got braces and that gap was never able to close. There was too much bone loss and I did not care to do the implant route. So, I have a space but it has been there for so long and I don't really care.

[sim]

I am missing the 14 and the 25 due to orthodontic treatment about 30 years ago. The gaps never had been fully closed and I always hated how it looked, especially at the left sight. The gap on the right sight was not so obvious because it was further in my mouth.

I am in braces since January and we are now closing the gaps with powerchains. The gaps are now half as large since last month and I hope they will be fully closed in a few months. So I think it is possible to close gaps of missing teeth even when they were extracted years ago.