Originally Posted by
MommyAllison
DD1 (13.5) and DS (just turned 11) have been going to the orthodontist for growth checks for several years. The first orthodontist said they would plan to pull multiple adult teeth on each of them, because their mouths were too small. Both kids were pre-puberty at that point, so I asked if their jaws would continue to grow/widen as they grew, ortho said no. I wasn't thrilled with that answer, and our dentist gave us a different ortho referral. DD1 has since had her braces put on at the second ortho, who does not plan to pull any teeth from DD1's mouth, as there is space for all of her adult teeth (all but one are already in).
DS is a little more complicated - he has a congenital missing adult tooth (DH has one as well), and has lost his teeth out of order so teeth are impacted/blocked out because adult teeth have moved into the wrong spaces. At first, the second ortho wasn't planning to pull any adult teeth, but after looking at his chart again, he thought that having an oral surgeon pull 3 adult impacted teeth (one from each quadrant, except the quadrant with the missing tooth) would create lots of space and simplify treatment. However, DS hasn't entered puberty yet and DH and I are concerned about the permanence of pulling so many adult teeth when his jaw still has a lot of growing to do - and possibly ending up with too much space. I've read posts here that say they had adult teeth pulled on ortho recommendation, and ended up with too much space in their mouth as an adult, and shifted teeth. Obviously we can't put those adult teeth back in once they're gone! It seems like a pretty involved surgery and recovery, and we know DS will be very nervous about it (he doesn't know this is a possibility yet). Additionally, seeing how DD's jaw ended up with enough space for her teeth (as did mine, my mouth is also small and was crowded, but didn't need any teeth pulled), makes me think that I'd rather stick with the first plan, of using braces to straighten and move the teeth, allowing the impacted teeth to come in and then see where we're at, and if we need to pull any teeth. I think the ortho prefers his new plan of pulling teeth to simplify treatment, though.
So, WWYD? Any input is much appreciated!