Monday, August 15, 2011

Ask your Markham Orthodontist... do I need to extract teeth when I get braces?


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!

1 comment:

Orthodontic Dentist San Diego said...

Once your braces have been removed and you have beautiful, well aligned teeth, you will need to wear retainers to keep them that way. At first, you will be asked to wear your retainers all the time, except when eating and brushing your teeth. After one year, when your teeth have had adequate time to stabilize, your will be instructed to wear your retainers at night only.

If you do not wear your retainers as instructed your teeth will move. Rotations and tipping of the teeth may occur and spaces may open between the teeth.