Metal Mouth Message Board

hi everyone....went to my first ortho appointment today.....took xray & mold & teeth impression, etc...all the "fun" stuff...

my ortho told me i might need to take out 4 teeth excluding the wisdom teeth (yikes!!).....he said depending on the xray result, but he's thinking to take out my 2 upper bicuspid and 2 lower bicuspid....

i'm no expert (obviously...lol), but from looking in the mirror, i think my bicuspid teeth aren't the "crooked" ones...

my question is: do ortho have an initial preference for which teeth to extract? ie: for size, shape or easy to pull or other reason? i realize that it is depending on each case, but i'm wondering if there are other medical or teeth structure factor that make some teeth to be better candidate for extraction...

ANY THOUGHT/EXPERIENCE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED, THANKS SO MUCH EVERYBODY

input anyone? thanks

I have found that when extractions are necessary most ortho's do go for the bicuspids. In my case it was the second on both top and bottom. I think that many factors are considered when extractions are needed, size and shape of your mouth are big factors. My ortho told me that they could leave the bicuspids in, but that it would make my front teeth pop forward, which was something that I really was not interested in.

Most of the time the ortho does suggest the first bicuspids so that if you are trying to straighten front teeth around to canines you can get the most optimal "pull-back" of the teeth. I think bicuspids are also chosen for extraction because they have the least impact on the needs of your mouth. I could be wrong about that, but I think my ortho mentioned something about it. I hope that this helps.

Thanks Gel for your input

I had 4 biscuspids taken out as well. They seem to be the norm when it comes to making room. Orthos don't look for which ones are more crooked and pull them.... they look for the ones that will make the most impact on your soon-to-be-perfect smile.

Thanks TuZZi for your thought

I was told that I needed 4 bicuspids removed as well. Then, at my next (consultation) appointment after x-rays/molds were taken, my ortho changed his mind and said I only needed the lower ones removed. I was SO relieved!

I felt a little confused about removing perfectly straight, good, healthy (no fillings) teeth from my mouth, too -- but the bicuspids are generally chosen for extraction because a) your back molars are your strongest teeth and you need to keep them!, and b) you wouldn't want any of the canines or front teeth removed because it would look strange cosmetically. Since we have two sets of bicuspids, I guess they're considered expendable Plus they're the weakest out of all your "molar" type teeth.

By the way, I was nervous about getting teeth extracted and it was so not a big deal at all. They came out *frighteningly* easily.

Good luck!!!

Thanks alot sydsmom! I really hope my teeth will come out *frighteningly* easily as well ...lol...to be honest i'm really scared of the extraction...

I hope yours do too!!

I was so nervous I felt like I was going to hyperventilate, which I've never experienced before. But the dentist does a lot of wiggling and rocking of the tooth to get it loose before pulling it, so you'll know if there's any pain and will have ample opportunity to tell him to numb you up more.

Hi Carrie!

Yes, when my ortho told me I was going to need extractions, I freaked out. I didn't want to loose two perfectly good teeth!
Of course, he aimed at the first two bicuspids on my upper jaw. (I didn't need the lowers extracted). I didn't know why, in fact I tried to found out if it was possible to extract my 2nd bicuspids instead. I had a root canal on one of them, and I thought "well if I have to loose teeth, it is better to loose that one".

But orthos have good reasons to pick the teeth to be pulled out. In my case, I have to fix an overjet and that means pulling 6 teeth back, so I needed some room to place them in. If my 2nd bicuspids were to be extracted, I would have 8 teeth to pull back, which doesn't have sense. If you have some overjet, that might be one reason.

If you have some crowding, the room is urgently needed. And, as sydsmom said, they are the most "expandable" teeth

Don't worry about extractions, they are super scary when you think of them, but when you have them done, you'll be surprised of how quickly everything happened. It took less than 15 minutes for my two teeth to come out! It was really a breeze.

If you have the chance, schedule some free time after the extractions: a nap is wonderful for healing your mouth and your nerves
Good luck!

Thanks so much for your encouragement and sharing your story Jesslzz ....i hope mine will go smooth as yours...i'm trying not to think about it too much right now cuz nuthing is confirmed yet as the last time my ortho told me potentially 4 extraction was before the xray and mold...

i'm meeting my ortho on feb7 and that's when he'll tell me exactly what needs to be done (cuz i did my xray and mold, etc last appointment)....so we'll see...hopefully nuthing more than what he said last time...yikes...scary....i'm a wimp... ...hehe...

I actually had my bottom front tooth pulled out which I now regret because my bottom teeth are not aligned with the top. My ortho told me I "had" to pull that tooth to straighten my teeth.
I was told by my dentist that the reason orthos don't pull certain teeth, such as canines, is because it will change your profile.