to be horrified at the idea of my DS having 3 healthy teeth ripped out in the name of 'perfection'?

[keithlemonsbackdoors]

My son (nearly 16) has been offered orthodontic treatment on the NHS. Ay the first appointment they talked up how great his teeth would look after treatment, how he could have whatever colour braces he wants etc etc. No mention of pulling out teeth.

At the second appointment, after taking inpressions, x-rays etc, the orthodontist says casually (paraphrasing slightly) 'So if you can just make an appointment to have these 3 teeth extracted, thank you, lovely, bub-bye.'

Maybe I'm a bit, I don't know, overprotective? Squeamish? Mental?? But every time I think of taking him to a dentist & allowing him to go at his mouth with a pair of pliers I just want to cry. The pain, the blood, the massive gaps until his teeth are fixed... I actually cannot bear it. If he was in pain, or had massive issues about how his teeth look then I could probably get my head around it.

Truth is, he's never been THAT bothered about hs teeth (they're a bit sticky-outy - technical term I believe - because he sucked his thumb for years & a bit wonky it the bottom. When you look you can see they're not straight but you wouldn't think 'bloody hell, look at the state of his teeth!' to look at him.) but having a brace has become a bit of a fashion statement among his friends. I think he wants the brace more than he wants perfect teeth (although he's been brainwashed into thinking he NEEDS straight teeth by the orthodontist).

He also has ADD & has trouble seeing the big picture or thinking ahead. I don't think he really gets that it's a 4 year commitment, or that he will have to give up drinking coke, go to appointments every 6 wks etc. I don't really think it's fair to say no, because it's his choice to make. Also, it's now or never; we couldn't afford to have this done privately.

So am I being unreasonable in thinking I'll probably try to talk him out of it until he (hopefully) forgets about the idea?

OP, be sure to remember that NOT everyone has the options duchesse is describing as it's purely a orthodontic issue. Not everyone can have every kind of treatment or brace. I also had my jaw widened by a form of brace, but not sufficiently, I still had 4 teeth out and it made ALL the difference to me.

Personally, and I don't usually make personal comments in my posts, I think you're being a bit OTT about the removal of these teeth. Calm down and talk to the orthodontist directly about your concerns or get a second opinion.

I don't think Op is being OTT at all. It is and should be something that is not taken lightly, but thought out with all the pro's and cons etc as it appears the Op is doing.

It's my 6 monthly visit to the dentist this week along with my Dc's. My Ds's front teeth have started to wander...I will be having a conversation with the dentist about it and as much I feel (as my own Mum did) that removing healthy teeth is sacrilege, I will consider it carefully before doing anything about it. It shouldn't be taken lightly, but I do think badly crooked teeth don't have to be left that way, it's whether or not you will do what is necessary to change them.

I didn't have mine corrected and while I don't care about the cosmetic side at all (being uninterested in looks and pretty immune to bullying), I do have a lot of problems with my teeth, both the difficulty of keeping them clean and wear from biting incorrectly- and I'm forever getting ulcers and biting my tongue in my sleep, not at all pleasant.

I can feel attractive with a wonky smile, but it's terribly hard to feel attractive when you have gum disease and a migraine.