Braces, teeth removal, wrong decision??

[beinspired]

This is my 1st time posting on MN, i posted this under 'health' but reading through MN it's probs better to post it here.
My lovely dc is going through Orthodontic treatment at the moment. When she had her 1st appointment it was all about private or NHS. Her teeth are moderate crowding so the outcome was NHS.
She was put on a waiting list. The 2nd appointment was assessment of her teeth and a dental plan. They took an 3D xray and some photo's. On the plan it says dc is a class 1 on a mild class 2 skeleton with moderate crowding. She needed 4 teeth removed, 1st pre molars on the left and 2nd pre molars on the right.
I trusted the Orthodontist as even I could see the crowding of dc's teeth (dh had 4 teeth removed when he was young) most of my dc's friends have teeth removed for braces, so i thought it had to be done.
We had a dentist appointment quite soon, I did check with dentist if it was the right decision. She said, they are a very good orthodontist practice and if it was her child she would have teeth removed.
Anyway, went a long with it, dc was very brave and luckily it was done very quick.
Just a week later i found out that tooth extractions can have a real effect on faces when they grow older. Heard about 'sunken face', flat profile and all sorts of scary things. Heard that you can have straight teeth without removal of healthy teeth even when there is crowding.
I heard about twin blocks, expanders but we were never given any of those options, never even heard of them.
Now I have sleepless nights thinking I ruined my dc's face and that correction of a mild class 2 skeleton (slightly receding chin) should be done now whilst still growing.
I love my dc's face and i heard with current treatment, profile might get worse. BTW not telling any of this to my DC.
I just don't know what to do, i feel so stupid just trusting the orthodontist and only now hear about other options.
I did try to talk to orthodontist at 3rd appointment (fitting upper train tracks) but she wasn't really interested and of course i can't really tell her all my concerns with my child there. Next appointment in 6 weeks.
Anyone any suggestions? Maybe an orthodontist here who can reassure me? Is there anything i can do? Have a different treatment?
Thanks for reading!!

I don’t live in the U.K. and am very shocked to read that children are still waiting for orthodontic treatment to begin until all their teeth have come through. The OP is right - current best practice is not to have extractions but to use methods that expand the dental arch.

You have to have faith. A good orthodontist (and yours sound like they are) is like a plastic surgeon without a knife. They assess what is going to be a problem and set about fixing it, but it's a bit like a Capability Brown landscape.. it takes time before it all makes sense to us. My oldest had 7 teeth out and has a beautiful straight smile - possibly his best feature, my youngest had his lower jaw extended over 2 years and now not only has a beautiful set of teeth, but is devastatingly handsome (being completely unbiased obviously). They know what they're doing.

I declined NHS treatment because my dentist said they'd take healthy teeth out. A few years later I had private treatment and the braces they used meant I didn't need teeth out. If I had teeth out, they would have all squashed up again when my wisdoms came through, but because I have all my teeth they are effectively pushed back over where my wisdoms would come through, meaning they have just never erupted.

NHS orthodontics are a basic version as usual compared to what you get privately, but loads of my friends had them and have had no problems at all. The worst thing was they had proper metal train tracks whereas mine were much less obvious. The friends who didn't wear their retainers properly ended up with overcrowded teeth again when their wisdoms came through, but those who wore them properly still have lovely straight teeth. I wouldn't worry OP

I had 4 teeth out and train track braces 16 years ago due to overcrowding. My teeth are lovely and straight and no sunken face. I get compliments about my smile. I did have my wisdom teeth out when they started erupting at 28(!) but that wasn’t due to my previous dental treatment.

This might not help but I had the full whack. 6 teeth out (including eye teeth) and then train tracks. Twenty years later my teeth are still perfectly straight! They are about my only good feature - people have commented on how good my teeth are - weird I know. But they used to be dreadful - really crowded and overlapping.

It will be fine. The internet is a crazy place and you can google yourself into a panic attack! The dentist will put you mind at rest

I had 4 teeth taken out and braces, the gaps are soon filled in and my teeth are perfectly spaced now (not straight as I was a dick who didn’t wear her retainer..), no problems at all.

Thank you all. I see different opinions regarding extractions. It's true that a lot of the stories on internet are scary, especially the ones with pictures of "treatment with extractions and without extractions" of course the ones without extractions have a beautiful wide smile and with extractions a narrow smile. But then, I presume people who are very happy with their smiles and had the removal of teeth would not necessarily post online.
I do hope that our orthodontist (they are a private and NHS practice) didn't advice extractions because it's cheaper for them, or because it's easier to do, but because that's the best orthodontic treatment for my DC.

I'm over 50. Had 4 adult premolars removed because of overcrowding and no treatment since. Upper jaw very normal lower incisor about 1mm crossing at centre. Considering my age I think he made a brilliant judgment call ! Yep I would have had braces now of course but my face hasn't caved in either.

My son had the blocks and expanders, but that was because he had a massive overbite and a narrowing of his palate - it wasn't just crowding. Your daughter probably doesn't have that extent of problem.

He also had to have 4 teeth out anyway, before his train tracks.

I, on the other hand, had 8 teeth out as a kid for overcrowding (1970s, crap NHS dentist). I def haven't got a sunken face, and had no problem whatsoever with wisdom teeth, cos there was loads of room back there! :-D

My DC all have my smallish mouth and my dh's large teeth, God love them. Expanders have never been mentioned, and they all had their teeth done privately. I have one still in treatment and one who will be starting treatment in the next few months. They have all needed extractions, the orthodontist is young and trained quite recently in the US, I have no reason to think that her methods are outdated. I dread to think what we have spent on our DCs teeth, and our youngest has a couple of adult teeth coming through crooked too. Sob!

I had 10 teeth extracted as a teenager. Very small jaw and overcrowding. I'm now having invisalign as a 34 year old but just because they drifted back. Depending on genetics, overcrowding plus small jaw is a recipe for orthodontics. Don't worry your DCS teeth will be fine 😊

Orthodontics have changed and improved hugely in the last 20 years with the advent of new technology. The teenage orthodontic experiences of people who are in their 30s and 40s now are entirely irrelevant to children in 2018.

I had teeth out and braces as a child. My teeth are pretty good now. Still a tiny bit crooked on the bottom due to my reluctance to wear my retainer enough at the very end!

I had massive work done to widen my top teeth, reduce my overbite, improve my bite and reshape my face. A great great improvement! It was painful but I am happy I did it.

4 premolars our isvery common treatment for crowding and the completed cases I see always look great. Also they may have more room for the wisdom teeth to erupt fully- saves hassle later if this is the case.
I think you’ve googled and worried yourself unduly- there’s lots of nonsense on the internet! Trust your orthodontist who has actually assessed your child.

My son couldn't cope with the twin blocks ..horrendous things !

It's a minefield now what they can do with kids jaws etc. My son will have to live with his very minor overbite but straight teeth because we chose not to go ahead with the expanding treatment using fancy private treatments or the twin blocks offered by the NHS. He has straight top and bottom with a permanent retainer . He's happy .

Both husband and I have had four teeth removed and braces and neither of us have collapsed faces.

I'm not sure the NHS would undertake it quite so regularly if people's faces collapsed, seems quite counter intuitive to have straight teeth and a disfigured face.

DD has had twin blocks in for 6 months and has at least another 6 months to go. Even after that, she still might need teeth extracted. If there isn't room, there isn't room.