AIBU to want dd to have traintrack braces but no teeth removed?

[Italiangreyhound]

AIBU to want dd to have traintrack braces but no teeth removed?

The orthodontist says my dd (11) needs train track braces to straighten her teeth.

The waiting list is about 18 months.

Since about 8 days old dd has sucked her thumb and nothing I have ever been able to do has helped her to stop (despite her saying she wants to stop!). So we have 18 months for her to stop so she can get her teeth straightened.

When she finally does stop thumb sucking and gets to the top of the list the orthodontist says she will need train track braces to straighten her teeth and in order to do this the orthodontist will take out two teeth.

I did not really think anything of it until a friend told me that they don't need to take out teeth nowadays with traintrack braces.

Can anyone tell me how it has worked for them or their child, please?

DD is terrified of having teeth removed and if it is not necessary I would rather avoid it.

I'm surprised our orthodontist didn't talk to us about the option not to remove teeth, especially as the NHS website seems to suggest it is not very common tp remove teeth now- " But, as a result of recent advances in orthodontic treatment, removing teeth has become much less common."

My dd has only had one baby tooth removed and that virtually fell out as it was stuck at an odd angle - think 'Nanny McFee'!

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Orthodontics/Pages/Howitisperformed.aspx

"Removing teeth

In some cases, it may be necessary to remove a tooth to correct the position and appearance of nearby teeth. But, as a result of recent advances in orthodontic treatment, removing teeth has become much less common.

However, if baby teeth have been extracted, there is a greater likelihood that adult teeth will need to be extracted as part of orthodontic treatment."

Thanks.

Both DDs had teeth removed before braces. Both were fine about it, and had them out with no fuss. It's entirely different to digging out impacted wisdom teeth.

It's really important that teeth aren't overly close, so brushing is effective. Be guided by by the orthodontist. If you don't trust him over a bunch of Internet randoms, you need to find a new one.

Leigh1980 Just out of interest, how many teeth have you got now?

I had loads removed as a child then wore a brace & headgear for a short time then refused to wear them again,

As a result I have just finished 24 months of Orthodontic work (fixed brace) as an adult & I have to wear a retainer every night.

The brace has been painful after adjustments, headaches/mouth ulcers from rubbing etc but worth it, Im happy with the result,

It cost thousands & thousands but I looked awful before. I could get the top of my thumb in behind my top teeth when smiling, now thats impossible - thanks to my wonderful orthodontist.

I've just counted lol. I have 24 teeth.

I've had 12 removed incl all wisdoms.

My dm refused to let me have teeth out because it sounded dramatic. I have overlapping teeth and my wisdom teeth were murder coming through. Maybe seek a secomd opinion, but the 0professionals do know what they're talking about.

firefly78 The injection is a scratchy feeling for a second, then you wont feel a thing, when he took mine out 2 years ago, I thought he was about to do it & he said "ok, all done" It was that quick!

Follow the guidelines on the aftercare sheet & you will be fine, honestly.

I had two teeth removed as a child and wore train track braces. i then had train tack braces as a adult as well as my teeth had moved to exactly the same position as before I'd had braces. They suggested I removed another two teeth to get a better result. I refused as I really did not want to take out perfectly healthy teeth and my teeth and mouth were in no way over crowded - I had major gaps. The orthodontist said that was fine and went ahead with treatment. I now have the teeth I always dreamed of.

Therefore I would maybe bring up your concern with the orthodontist as there may be another option. I thought nowadays teeth were only necessarily removed if there is no space left in the mouth to move other teeth into.

DC had attain track braces in South Africa and none had any teeth removed. I think they expanded their palettes , I'm not sure, but I clearly remember the orthodontist saying that they almost never remove teeth.
All my kids have amazing teeth.

I had a thumb sucker. The dentist put a ring on his thumb and he completely stopped in a few days. Could you put a cast on the finger to break the habit. I was amazed how immediate my DC lost the habit.

Leigh1980 some of them must have been your baby teeth. It would be highly unusual to have so many additional teeth. Adults have 32. For small mouths, 24 teeth isn't unusual, just gives you no room for error if you need teeth out in the future.

Leigh1980 thank you!

Ive got 28, just had a count, I had so many out years ago, I must have had loads too many.

This was me before when I'd had my teeth removed and braces.

I had train tracks at 13 with no teeth removed. Teeth were straight....for a few years. Then all moved back to how they were. All wisdom teeth needed removing.

I'm now 30 and have train tracks on again after having 4 more teeth removed. They're much straighter than they were the first time already

I had two rows of teeth top and bottom. I looked like a shark! They removed a lot as I had too many teeth and my mouth is extremely small. Even now dentists comment on how small my mouth is. Originally I just had a plate as they wanted to see if that worked first before pulling my teeth but it just pushed my teeth forward and gave me awful buck teeth. So the ortho removed them and pulled my teeth back in place.

Another one who had four teeth removed before train track braces. I had a very crowded mouth - no more teeth than the next person, but just a smaller space to fit them all in. It was no big deal. I would go with what your qualified orthodontist says rather than what your friend told you and what you read on the internet.

Dd had 2 milk teeth removed and 2 different (different parts of mouth) adult teeth removed before starting her fixed braces earlier this year, age 13.

It really did seem like the lesser of the evils / treatment would have been affected had she not had them removed and I doubt they would be able to get the same results as they are doing had she not.

Dd has teeth in the wrong places - swapped with each other type situation - and other over crowding type issues and there were/is issues being caused to the roots of otherwise healthy teeth. By removing one tooth it has helped to preserve two others by the looks of things.

But I do what they are doing. Because of several things going on with her teeth it had t been dealt with by just the one orthodontist and I know he had had much advise from other orthodontists/specialists at the dental hospital - so it hasn't been just a quick toothpaste out type decision.

But it depend on which teeth and why they need to go surely?

firefly it's not painful. The injection is nippy, the extraction itself just feels like pressure in your mouth.

But the way Dd found the extractions perfectly fine.
First one she was about 9/10y and it came out quickly and easily - Dd hardly knew she had been I heated before it was out. She found no pain at all.

Likewise earlier this year she had 3 out at once - again she said it was a doddle. Very quick, not pain.

Leigh, they may have been in two rows, my point was that 36 adult teeth must be incredibly rare and not something I've come across or read about in over a decade. So the OP shouldn't worry about having 12 teeth removed because it's so rare as to be highly unlikely in her DDscase.

Stopping thumb sucking:

Long socks over BOTH hands taped around the wrists. Expect several nights of your DD finding it hard to get to sleep and stay asleep but it does work.

Been there, done that!!!

I had a huge overcrowding problem with my teeth. So much so that two of my front teeth on top were behind the others and the rest were at an angle, and on the bottom they were all twisted and misaligned!

I had 8 teeth removed - 4 from the top and bottom. I needed enough space for the teeth to straighten out an then excess space to prevent misalignment when my wisdom teeth finally came through.

As it was, when my wisdom teeth all came completely through last year, one of my bottom teeth cracked and the front ones were pushed slightly out of line. The combination of that last tooth coming through and the other one becoming damaged was like no other. The offending tooth was removed, the wisdom tooth came through (closing the gap left behind) and my teeth straightened out again.

It made me really appreciate the slight stinging of the needle 8 times when younger compared to the debilitating agony of that on tooth last year.

The Ortho will know what they are doing.

im having teeth out then braces all on nhs cos i need a jaw op too. im 37 i wish id hsd it all done when i was 16 and first offered but my mum didn't want me to have it done. ive spent years hiding my awful crooked tewth.

My DD (9) currently has a removable plate to help her stop sucking her thumb. The orthodontist thought it was worth starting preliminary treatment now although she won't get train tracks for a few years. She tends to play with it a lot and still sucks her thumb when it's out but as it's in most of the time her teeth do look as it they are realigning a little of their own accord. The orthodontist said the thumb sucking was narrowing her palette and had made her lower teeth on one sit outside the upper. I think at some point a key will be turned to start widening her jaw. Could you get a plate before the brace and see if it helps?

I think your friend might not be wrong but have the context wrong.

I had private orthodontic work and not teeth out. The braces I had cost more than the NHS stump up for and it is easier to move teeth and less painful. The NHS two years prior had said I would have to have teeth out. For their braces, it would have been the best solution.

Don't forget even at 12 she has more teeth to come in that may make all her teeth go wonky again. This is why I held off until I was 19 to get work done (and all was fixed in 10 months, NHS would have been 2 years +).

What are your friend's dental/orthodontic qualifications?

The thing with Orthodontics is it that it's basically engineering - and its primary aim is most often to achieve a pleasing cosmetic result. So it's quite distinct from most routine treatments you will receive from any other healthcare professional.

There will likely be more than one way to achieve the desired result, but factors such as length of treatment, long-term outcomes, patient compliance etc etc will affect which approach the orthodontist will choose to take.

By all means get a second opinion, but I'd suggest getting it from an orthodontist rather than your friend.

Regarding the retainer after the braces come off our Orthodontist has told DS1 he must wear it every night for the rest of his life. That's quite something to be told at 14 years old.