Adult teeth removal for teen braces and expander, help!

[megletthesecond]

DS 14 has been approved for braces, yay!
However he has to have two adult pre-molars removed before the expander and brace can go in. I'm afraid I had no idea this was a thing so I'm trying to understand the risks and outcomes. DS is understandably anxious about having his teeth out.
He was referred 18 months but due to lockdown he's been delayed this long so I'm not keen on delaying it any longer.

Can anyone who has a teen who has had this done give me any idea how it might go, upside and downsides.

I will be in touch with the dentist and orthodontist to go over any queries too.

Thanks .

It’s pretty common to need a tooth or two removed if you have crowding when having braces. My one DD had two teeth removed in the middle of the orthodontic treatment. The risk of not doing it is crowding of teeth- the teeth may overlap each other creating bacteria traps and increasing risk of gum disease and tooth decay. One thing to keep in mind is that if he needs these two teeth removed now, he will almost certainly need his wisdom teeth removed too when they come in years later.

Thanks @planderaccordement . Good point about wisdom teeth.

Pretty common. That’s what they did with Dc1.

That’s also what they wanted to do with Dc2. Except the only way it could have happened is if they had sedated him. So they worked around it and Dc2 didn’t have any teeth out.
He had to keep his braces longer because of that though

DS had 4 teeth out 2 at a time. He was much more relaxed second time round as although nice a nice experience he didn't cause him any issues following the procedure. The expander made it extremely difficult to eat for quite some time and he did loose quite a bit of weight bit soon got used to it and after about 6 months he has both top and bottom braces. Will be worth it in the long run

I only have 24 adult teeth left due to having the others pulled (and milk teeth before that) The dentist complains every time because what I've got left do not fit together as well as teeth that are designed to sit next to each other! DS has had an expander retainer from age 9 to try to prevent this, DD didn't have that but the orthodontist was very keen to avoid any removals. It's not something they do lightly these days. And if they do it I'm sure they will be very nice about it unlike Miss Carter who never used numbing cream before ramming her favourite largest, bluntest needle into my gums

Yep, had 4 teeth out, 35 odd years ago. It's pretty standard for braces, isn't it? Just annoying even then they left ones with fillings...

My dd had two teeth out pre braces too. She was 12 I think and was fine with it. Now 15 and she has perfect teeth.

All had braces 2 had the premolars out as they had overcrowding.
The other just needed a pallet expander thing that you turned a key in every week as they had a cross bite.
The tooth extraction was fine they said it hurt less than the braces, they just need to avoid anything that might dislodge the healing socket.

Oldest’s wisdom teeth came through just about ok and I’m certain that they wouldnt have had space and could have needed (surgical) extraction without the space that was created by the premolars being extracted.

Dd had 1 baby tooth and 2 adult teeth removed before she got her braces on

I had 4 out at about the same age, top and bottom, and have had no problems with my wisdom teeth, I think having the premolars out created space for them.
My DD had 2 out at the age of 11 / 12, with no problems. She was anxious about the first one, but the dentist was very quick, and it was over before she knew it. She was a lot more relaxed for the 2nd one, and coped fine. As long as you follow the advice for aftercare, it should be OK.

@PlanDeRaccordement

It’s pretty common to need a tooth or two removed if you have crowding when having braces. My one DD had two teeth removed in the middle of the orthodontic treatment. The risk of not doing it is crowding of teeth- the teeth may overlap each other creating bacteria traps and increasing risk of gum disease and tooth decay. One thing to keep in mind is that if he needs these two teeth removed now, he will almost certainly need his wisdom teeth removed too when they come in years later.

Not necessarily, I had 4 adult teeth removed due to overcrowding and my wisdoms came through fine.

As a teen (20+ yrs ago!) I was one of the only ones NOT having any teeth removed prior to having braces. It seemed a very common thing to prevent over crowding though.

I also have no wisdom teeth at all, so assume I'm just a freak?

Risks of NOT having teeth removed would be that the braces do very little and he ends up with crooked, overlaping teeth because there isnt the space in his jaw to hold them all straight. Especially if he has wisdom teeth whick usually dont erupt till late teen years or even early 20's.

Risks of removal include infection and dry socket syndrome. Usually antibiotics are given routinely and signs for dry socket and other complications would be explained prior to the procedure.

Also risk of a tooth splitting, difficult extractions, impactions, but I'm not a dentist/orthadontist, so they are the best to advise.

I had four teeth out at that age some 25ish years ago (god I feel old writing that) for the same reason and not too long ago had to have my wisdom teeth out as they were starting to put pressure on the other molars because of not being properly through. Otherwise all good.

You've all been dead helpful. Thank you.
I've spoke to the dentist and she was very reassuring too. DS is less worried now.