How quickly do extraction gaps fill in?

[Beemur]

Hey guys,

So I went ahead and got my lower central incisor removed in preparation for my invisalign aligners. That was 3 days ago now, so the healing is coming along. But I have some worries now, I was initially due to go in and get my aligners on the 18th of April, but my work is now requiring me to be away from the 9th until the 28th of April so I can't get in to get my aligners until the 3rd of May. I have never had a tooth extracted before so I don't know how fast they heal and if the teeth around the extraction site will shift on their own? I'm worried that the site will heal and the teeth will shift and my aligners won't fit me because my teeth have shifted. Just wondering if anyone here can give me any of their wisdom on the situation? Do you think my teeth will shift very dramatically in the next 4 weeks? Hopefully I'm just worrying for nothing haha

[sirwired]

This is a good question for your ortho; he/she knows how much "pressure" your teeth are under to fill that gap. Definitely call the office...

[djspeece]

I don't think you have much to worry about in that short period of time. Even with braces, my understanding is that movement is 1mm / month in general, so you should be fine. Check of course with your ortho for real reassurance . Best of luck to you.

[angelclarissa]

Hello,
The length of time to close extraction gaps depends on your case. But thr time take to fill the extraction gap is between 4 months to one year. The gaps which are present on the upper teeth closes faster than the gap present in lower teeth.
For more details visit here: http://www.jerseyshoredental.net/services/root-canals/

[bretthov]

for those who have gotten extractions, did you have power chains and if so, how long did you have to wear them? I am waiting for ortho to make final call on extraction of lower tooth for me to help with treatment. Her initial view was yes and that I'd need 8 - 10 months to close the gap, but wanted to wait until she looked at the xrays a bit more. The assistant said I may even have to wear a cervical headgear at night for a few months based on how turned in the surrounding teeth were. I think I'm more worried about the extraction than getting the braces on!

[Beemur]

Thanks for the replies, guys!

Yes I will definitely call my orthodontist and voice my worries, I have emailed the office but he is away in the US at a conference thing (I'm in Australia), but hopefully he gets back to me soon, he is due back in office on the 10th and the other ortho that usually works there is his wife and she is away on maternity leave, so I will wait and see what he says before I get too panicked haha.

As for the power chains question, my sister had exactly the same tooth as me pulled (lower left central incisor) out two years back and she had traditional metal braces at the time, she didn't have a powerchain to close her gap and I think that it took about 8 months and hers was fully closed, my ortho said I'm looking at about 11 months but I guess Invisalign is a lot slower at moving teeth. But your teeth might need a little more help if you have some turned in ones. The extraction for me was very easy! It took about 15 minutes all up. Maybe because it's a perfectly healthy tooth that they're pulling out so there's no decay or infections there, but I had no issues at all, I feel more discomfort when I have my teeth cleaned than what I did with the extraction. It's a little hard to say 'S' words at the moment though. I had almost no pain at all after the numbing wore off, I was expecting to be in pain but I literally felt nothing except when I bumped it with a spoon the next day but then that disappeared straight away. Good luck on your journey, bretthov!

[bretthov]

thanks for the note and comments on the extraction. They said it wouldn't take long and are going to pick a tooth that is healthy with no issues or root problems. Will keep everyone posted on what happens and if the power chains and headgear end up in my future!