Whenever possible, your Stouffville Orthodontist will avoid extractions for orthodontic treatment. If there is any possibility that treatment can proceed without tooth removal, Dr. Tam will delay extraction as long as possible. Generally, braces are placed on the teeth before any teeth are taken out.
There are a few ways to avoid extractions in treatment:
1. Start off with adequate space to align teeth.
2. Expand the jaws in children before puberty.
3. Procline the teeth to increase arch perimeter.
4. Distalize teeth, pushing them back along the ridge of bone in the jaw.
5. Judicious IPR, slenderization, or selective grinding of the teeth to create space.
However, there are times when extractions should cannot always be avoided:
1. Excessive crowding.
2. Protrusive profile (too many teeth for the mouth, causing an overly full profile or open mouth, even when relaxed)
3. Existing bone loss or thin bone that would be compromised by excessive expansion of the jaws.
4. Correction of excessively non-coincident midlines.
5. Removal of wisdom teeth
Dr. Tam customizes your orthodontic care to deliver the best orthodontic treatment possible for each patient. Contact us at if you would like to come in for a free orthodontic consult!
