Going ahead with extractions!

[Chapincita18]

My appointment is monday.

I sat on my decision to do upper premolar extractions for 5 months!

I told my ortho that I wasnt going to do it and so he suggested another plan.

The non-extraction plan was to move the teeth back one by one. There are many negatives to this plan. First is that I would have to have my wisdom tooth removed by an oral surgeon who would then have to do bone grafting to make sure there was no bone loss, as then space would be lost. That whole procedure would cost me about a $1000 more.

My still in tact wisdom tooth is coming in where you can see the top...the oral surgeon I went to for the consult said that there is no room for it to come in..and that its hitting the adjacent tooth.

My ortho also says he is not 100% sure that that method is going to be effective. Since he is not sure there is enough room, my midline might be off center and I would still be left with an overbite. He says extractions are the way he can be 100% sure about.

Also, the other method would be me in braces at least a year more...

Too many negatives...what if I go through all that time and money to find out that method isnt effective, and I will just get extractions anyways?? Not worth it. Extractions it is.

I was so against extractions, but now that what I'm doing.

I really just need some words of encouragement Maybe some success stories.

[Chapincita18]

By the way, how do I post pics from my computer..cant figure it out.

And another thing, does anyone have any after pictures of those who had teeth removed? Any known celebrities. I've been going through pictures of celebrities trying to figure out who went through this...

Thanks

[bb]

re pics: you first have to get a photobucket account - free, and then load your pics there. Then you'll see your pic has an address.
You copy that address in your reply box, highlight it, and click the "Img" button above the box.

I had extractions and I have to say that while I wasn't thrilled with the notion, there was no way that my teeth would fit otherwise (aside from surgery to widen my palate)

So, accept your decision, don't look back. You've obviously thought it through. Think positive from now on out.

[daffodil]

I just had two lower premolars extracted last week. I don't have a comforting success story yet though, since I'm still sitting around with funny-looking gaps. I successfully resisted extraction of my upper premolars (I'm having surgery anyway, so I'm hoping I can just have my palate widened surgically if necessary), so now I'm a little puzzled about how all my teeth will fit together if I have fewer teeth on the bottom.

[caitlin1120]

Good for you for making a well thought out decision!

I had seven (SEVEN!) extractions two weeks before my braces went on about 6 months ago, and I'm soo happy I went through with it! It's obvious to me now that there was no way my teeth could do anything or go anywhere without the extractions, and now my bottom gaps are already completely closed - and bottom teeth are straight! hurrah! - and the top gaps are catching up.

Obviously its not the most pleasant thing in the world, the process itself, the healing, and the aesthetics of being gappy afterwards, but I think, at least for me, its been totally worth it so far and will only get better.

Also, there's all these horror stories out there about extractions changing your face and etc, and I have to say that I did notice a slight change in my face shape, but I really like it!! Extractions for the win!!

Good luck on Monday

[muxa xuxa]

How did it go with the extractions? I have been struggling with the decision to get extractions done for the past seven months too. Every ortho I went to told me I'd have to have 4 premolars removed, so I'd really appreciate the success stories too .

I found a picture a few days ago of Kylie Minogue while I was driving behind a bus that had a Tous advertisement with her on it. You can see she's had her premolars removed. She still has a beautiful smile. I don't know how famous she is in the US though.

[VA5]

I have had extractions. And I have to say, if you need space in your mouth or if you need teeth retracted.. even if you just need your teeth straightened, most times I think extractions is the way to go. There are the few people I have seen who have natural gaps in their mouth, who can get away without extractions, or really minior corrections. But, it seems the best looking after pictures who don't fit that bill, come from those who had extractions. Just my opinion.

I have a friend who did invisalign to straighten her teeth, and although they look really straight, her profile is now more protrusive (lips sticking out look, like a horse) and I think it looks bad. I look at her and think, I would have gotten extractions if i were her, or at least, ipr. And then i have another friend who did braces to straighten her teeth, and her teeth look the same.. very protrusive and horsey looking. I can't help but look at her mouth when I talk to her and think, gosh, why didn't she entertain extracting? It would have made a huge difference! So yeah, extractions are a good thing, in my opinion.. in many ortho cases.

[Chapincita18]

Ok, well I got my extractions a couple of days ago!

The one thing I have to say is that I am RELIEVED! It was such a tough decision to make but now that I see the space that will allow my teeth to move I am so excited for the change to happen. i welcome any changes and I know that in the long run this was the better option for me. Not only financially, but my treatment will run much more smoothly now and will be faster and with my orthodontist not iffy about what he can and cannot achieve (like with the distilation option). I'm so excited!

The gaps arent as unsightly as I thought they would be. When I smile, you cant even really tell that I have the gaps straight away.

Muxa xuxa, Wow, you are right, Kylie Minogue does have a great smile, that does make me feel better! Another person I thought of is Jayde Nicole, if anyone knows who she is..I cannot find a really good picture of her to make sure, but she looks like has less teeth than the average super model.

[VA5]

Ok, well I got my extractions a couple of days ago!

The one thing I have to say is that I am RELIEVED! It was such a tough decision to make but now that I see the space that will allow my teeth to move I am so excited for the change to happen. i welcome any changes and I know that in the long run this was the better option for me. Not only financially, but my treatment will run much more smoothly now and will be faster and with my orthodontist not iffy about what he can and cannot achieve (like with the distilation option). I'm so excited!

The gaps arent as unsightly as I thought they would be. When I smile, you cant even really tell that I have the gaps straight away.

Muxa xuxa, Wow, you are right, Kylie Minogue does have a great smile, that does make me feel better! Another person I thought of is Jayde Nicole, if anyone knows who she is..I cannot find a really good picture of her to make sure, but she looks like has less teeth than the average super model.

good for you. and i felt the same way after getting my teeth extracted.. relieved and happy that i knew for sure i would see changes to my teeth. i had asked about ipr and invisalign and she said that both would change my appearance only in pictures (ie from the front).. however it would do little to retract my teeth. i have very straight teeth to begin with, but like everybody else had some teeth a little crooked and very slightly rotated. you can't tell at all these inconsistencies in pictures.. and i know that if i had only ipr, it would only give me space to correct those inconsistencies and really straighten out my teeth.. and maybe retract half a mm. so now i am so happy i didn't go those routes b/c it would have been such a shame.. after wanting braces for so long for a less protrusive profile, only to have minimal to no results with ipr.. that wouldn't have made me too happy.

i do know jayde nicole however there are no good pictures of her smiling! i wonder if she is self-conscious of her teeth?

[gracey82]

I have had extractions. And I have to say, if you need space in your mouth or if you need teeth retracted.. even if you just need your teeth straightened, most times I think extractions is the way to go. There are the few people I have seen who have natural gaps in their mouth, who can get away without extractions, or really minior corrections. But, it seems the best looking after pictures who don't fit that bill, come from those who had extractions. Just my opinion.

I have a friend who did invisalign to straighten her teeth, and although they look really straight, her profile is now more protrusive (lips sticking out look, like a horse) and I think it looks bad. I look at her and think, I would have gotten extractions if i were her, or at least, ipr. And then i have another friend who did braces to straighten her teeth, and her teeth look the same.. very protrusive and horsey looking. I can't help but look at her mouth when I talk to her and think, gosh, why didn't she entertain extracting? It would have made a huge difference! So yeah, extractions are a good thing, in my opinion.. in many ortho cases.

Depends on your preference though, if u need a profile change, go for extraction. If you are not and like me who prefer more to save my 4 teeth. I did IPR. Even though my orthon havent retract now, but fter IPR done, I feel my teeth looking less toothy and protrusive.

[gracey82]

My appointment is monday.

I sat on my decision to do upper premolar extractions for 5 months!

I told my ortho that I wasnt going to do it and so he suggested another plan.

The non-extraction plan was to move the teeth back one by one. There are many negatives to this plan. First is that I would have to have my wisdom tooth removed by an oral surgeon who would then have to do bone grafting to make sure there was no bone loss, as then space would be lost. That whole procedure would cost me about a $1000 more.

My still in tact wisdom tooth is coming in where you can see the top...the oral surgeon I went to for the consult said that there is no room for it to come in..and that its hitting the adjacent tooth.

My ortho also says he is not 100% sure that that method is going to be effective. Since he is not sure there is enough room, my midline might be off center and I would still be left with an overbite. He says extractions are the way he can be 100% sure about.

Also, the other method would be me in braces at least a year more...

Too many negatives...what if I go through all that time and money to find out that method isnt effective, and I will just get extractions anyways?? Not worth it. Extractions it is.

I was so against extractions, but now that what I'm doing.

I really just need some words of encouragement Maybe some success stories.

I am going for IPR and non-extraction approach. But that just my case though becox my teeth is not very misaligned or too bad to begin with.

Reading on the non-extraction approach and the procedures u have to go through , it sound like extraction is less complicated and painful! Bone grafting sounds awkful and expensive!

[VA5]

I totally agree with gracey. It really depends on what your goal is. If it to retract your teeth due to protrusion, then it is wise to consider extraction. If it is really minor protrusion to no protrusion, or if u just have large teeth with no protrusion, and straight teeth,then ipr is a great way to go. I personally would not get braced just for minor retraction. It wouldn't be worth the money, time, and hassle. If u get braced just to make your teeth look smaller, I don't know that is worth it either. I could be totally wrong but I would think ipr without braces would help u achieve the same effect. Since teeth naturally move forward.. Ipr will make ur teeth smaller and the natural movement of ur teeth would quickly close any gaps without braces.

sorry for the rambling but these are all thoughts that should be considered. I just know that in my case, all ipr would have done was to give space for the miniscule rotatioins and straightening to take effect. It would have nothing to retract my teeth. If I got braced first to straighten my teeth, and then got ipr, I now realize that all that would happen is that my teeth would protrude even more while the teeth were straightened/rotated, and then future ipr would only retract back to the starting point before I had braces.. If that makes any sense. This is all in retrospect I can say this.. I would have not known and actually really wanted to just do ipr at first but now can see that would have achieved nothing for retraction.. It definitely would make my teeth smaller if anything which is why I will still ask for some small ipr later. Hope this helps!

[alimommy1]

I had 4 premolar extractions and if anything it improved my profile. If you have a small mouth and large teeth - as well as a class 1 (more of an edge to edge type of bite and tons of crowding, nothing could be done to straighten things without extractions. I was not willing to have surgery and my first ortho never even mentioned expansion as an idea rather than or as well as extractions.

I will probably have IPR to create enough space to correct my bite this time.