Avoid Teeth Removal for Braces (FACTS)
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Avoid teeth removal for braces? Orthodontists sometimes use dental braces to deal with misaligned or crowded teeth. Having straight teeth helps to improve a person’s cosmetic appearance. Straight teeth also affect how a person chews their food. Dental patients often wonder whether their orthodontist will remove some teeth during treatment. Tooth extraction is not always a necessary treatment option. In most cases, orthodontists use other alternatives to treat their patients.
Teeth Removal for Braces in the Following Instances
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To Relieve Crowding
Crowding leads to buckteeth (dental protrusion) or loss of bone or gum tissue. This can make it difficult for a patient to chew food properly. Thus, if a patient has a large jawbone, pressure will be applied to the teeth during treatment to move them inward or outward. If the jawbone cannot fit the teeth due to its small size, expanders will be used slowly to develop the bone.
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To Change Lip Position
Considering the teeth under a human being’s mouth determine how their lips appear. Thus, by removing the teeth, this helps to improve lip posture.
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To Compensate for Uneven Jaw Sizes
Teeth cannot handle food properly and the mouth cannot align correctly if one jaw is bigger than the other. The positioning of the jaw determines whether a patient will end up with an overbite or underbite. If a patient’s bite is off, surgery may be necessary. In other cases, tooth extraction may be a valid option.
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To Correct the Length and Shape of the Face
Poorly aligned teeth in the mouth affect the length and shape of the face. This can also lead to sleep apnea in most patients. In such cases, tooth extraction may be a plausible option for correcting the problem.
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Correct Impacted Teeth
Teeth extraction is possible when a patient has impacted teeth or tooth. Impacted teeth usually occupy the space inside the gums and do not drop down to their normal positions. Patients do not always realize immediately that they have this problem. Some symptoms can develop before they get a diagnosis. The symptoms can include headaches and swollen gums.
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To End Protrusions
A person’s front teeth play an important role in how they smile. In some patients, front teeth may protrude or stick out. This is a situation that often occurs when a tooth behind the anterior one is pressing forward. An adult will have to get their teeth removed if they get protrusions. Otherwise, it will be challenging to straighten their teeth.
Alternatives to Teeth Removal for Braces
Teeth extraction is a topic not all patients want to discuss. Fortunately, it is not always necessary. The following are plausible alternatives to teeth removal.
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Dental Surgery
If a patient has an overbite, the treatment option would be to move their jaw forward. An orthodontist can also slide the patient’s teeth back to the top. Either of these options may need surgery. However, some patients prefer tooth extraction instead of a surgical procedure.
Tooth slimming may be done to create extra space for the teeth. This operation grinds off a patient’s teeth to reduce their size or make them thinner. Orthodontists can also use a temporary anchoring device (TAD) to help them move teeth. It is worth mentioning that a patient may still need braces to straighten out their teeth even if they undergo surgery.
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Invisalign
Invisalign straightens out teeth without using the traditional metal braces. These are clear plastic aligners that fit below a patient’s teeth. They properly align the teeth over time by applying mild pressure on them. These devices are flexible, and a patient can remove them out for eating and hygiene purposes.
Because they need no wires or rubber bands and are clear, they are invisible in the mouth when worn. Adults prefer these devices because they can wear them and work without restrictions. Invisalign treatment is very important for simple dental problems and esthetic purposes. It is most sought after in the correction of problems such as gapped teeth, crowded teeth, underbites, and overbites.
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Palatal Expander
Palatal expanders are mostly used on younger patients aged 16 and below. These offer a smooth path that helps to avoid extracting teeth. They work to widen a patient’s palate before hardening into place. This creates enough space for teeth to grow without risking overcrowding. These devices may be necessary to correct crowding, crossbite, and impacted teeth.
In Conclusion
Human beings lose their primary or baby teeth in specific order. In some cases, this does not happen as it should. Alignment challenges can occur in children who lose their teeth too late or too early. Accordingly, an orthodontist like Dr. Tisseront can decide to remove a patient’s primary teeth to give room for proper growth. However, the extraction of permanent teeth is a decision that only the patients and their orthodontists can make. To learn more about alternative methods to teeth extraction, Contact us today.
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Tisseront Orthodontics
11720 Plaza America Drive, Ste. 110
Reston, VA 20190-4762
Phone: (703) 773-1200
Avoid Teeth Removal for Braces (FACTS)