Metal Mouth Message Board

Sooo I was supposed to have 4 extractions done yesterday as a part of my ortho plan but I chickened out. I ended up meeting with my ortho and he put my worries at ease for the most part. I now have the extractions scheduled for Dec. 19.

Looking on the internet obviously shows people that are unhappy with their extractions as people tend to speak more about bad results rather than good.

Are there any people on here who have had extractions and are happy with the results?

I will be geting my 4s removed and had the concern that it will smooch my profile to be even flatter than it already is. I believe my ortho is planning on only pushing the teeth back enough to fix the crowding and then pull the molars forward to fill in the rest of the space left from the extractions. He understands my concerns about my profile and will be trying to minimize any facial changes.

I think the biggest thing to worry about with extractions is that a lot of people will/do get mixed answers on if they need extractions or not and its a sort of iffy thing because you wouldn't want to end up with too much space

If the consensus (from a majority standpoint like 2/3) from going to multiple consultations is that you should get them, then there shouldn't really be anything to worry about going forward

it depends on the results you want to get.
you don't have to look online because every situation is different, ask your doctor to show you photos of similar cases
I had 3 consultations before I decided and all 3 had no doubts that 4 extractions were necessary. absolutely no space and lips that can't close . so extractions were the way to go, I just don't have enough space in my mouth for my big teeth. i also hate my profile because my mouth is protruding, I hope it gets better. I know that maybe my lips that are puffy now because of the protrusion, is a price I am going to pay, but I am willing to, because I want to fix the lip incompetence.
so it depends on the problems you have and the results you want to get. in every case, you have to speak with the doctor about your concerns (you said you already did, but maybe have him explain you why you cant take the non extraction route) , you wont find your answer online, because as i told you every case differs.

I've had 2 of my 4 needed extractions done so far and I feel great about the decision. It did make my smile look pretty terrible until the gaps were closed, but I felt ok with it because I was making things better. I have a coworker that had 4 extractions as part of treatment and his smile looks great!

I had my 4 first bicuspids extracted because of the protrusion of my upper and lower teeth. I had a big and "puffy" mouth before, like you and little crowding. I had my braces off and I am personnally very happy! There is such an improvement! My profile has changed a lot: it was convex and it's straight now. My chin has become more important (but without any "old effect"), my lips have an excellent contact now and my mouth, above all my upper jaw, is smaller (but no black corridors). And there isn't any bad points at all.
Extractions aren't recommanded for every case and some orthodontists don't consider the effects on the profile. But extraction of the 4 bicuspids is very efficient in cases like us.
All these years of suffering are totally worth it!

Would love an update!! How'd it go? Glad you did it?

@Lovespain5
What do you mean by "old effect?" Is the chin a lot different? Wider or longer?

"Old effect": having a "Snow White's Witch" looking chin. It sometimes arrives after moving your teeth back, sadly. So during an orthodontic treatment the face is as important as the teeth are.

Got it. Thanks. Im worried about having a very wide chin if I do extractions...as well as possible droopy lips. Mine already droop some in the corners so Im thinking with more teeth gone...Ill have the very sad look, naturally.

My jawline has become wider after the treatment yes. It's an improvement for me. But not for every face. But other patients have seen their face become thinner. And others having seen their chin becoming small... It's different for each face and each treatment.

Did you have any tongue thrust issues beforehand? Or teeth flaring out?

No, only protrusion and big mouth. My front teeth didn't specialy flare out, and no tongue issues.

I, too, am scheduled to get extractions done (2 premolars) before beginning treatment in July. I'm scared because my mouth already seems too narrow for my tongue and this will make it worse, it seems. This whole process is terrifying. You don't want to get perfectly healthy teeth removed and find out later that your smile still isn't satisfactory.

For what reason are going to have extractions? Crowding, protrusion, overbite?

Lovespain, I have a Overjet (protrusion) ...

Ok. Good luck with your treatment! Extractions aren't so painful with anestheasia. I recommand you not to extract all the chosen teeth at the same time because it is more confortable for eating and less painful.