Pulling Teeth

I never get a good feeling when I hear that any dentist recommends removal of temporary (baby) teeth. They're going to fall out soon anyway! That feeling gets even worse if I learn the dentist practices at a "chain" type dental office.

Here's why: When my daughter was young and when all her adult teeth were in, our dentist performed a simple and inexpensive procedure, a sealant applied to the surface of the teeth. He explained it would wear off on the topmost surfaces, but the little crevices would be sealed and protected for a very, very long time against decay.

She stayed cavity-free throughout her childhood. When she was about 25, she visited a "chain" dental place, and they told her she had 8 cavities! And of course, gave her a whopping estimate to fill them all! She got a second opinion from a private dentist, who could not find one single cavity! She requested her x-rays from the chain place for the private dentist, and THEY REFUSED to submit them, and would not give a reason for their refusal!

Pretty fishy, huh?

Another thing to seriously take into account is that problems with teeth (crooked, cavity prone and so on), are absolutely of a hereditary nature. A child's teeth will be very similar to the biological parent they "take after" or resemble. Did that parent have a serious problem with crooked or over-crowed PERMANANT teeth? Did he or she require any special corrective procedures? Lots of us with nice straight, healthy teeth, had funny looking or crooked baby teeth.

A child should never undergo life-threatening anesthesia of any type unless it is absolutely, positively necessary! We all read about that teen's breast augmentation tragedy, right?

When I was a kid in the '60's, it was virtually unheard of for a dentist to pull baby teeth, or even fill a cavity in a baby tooth. They are not in there long enough to cause damage to the permanant teeth below. One of my top front teeth suffered a hard knock, turned gray and "died", stayed there for the next two years until it fell out normally, and the permanent tooth grew in just fine!

Absolutely - get a second opinion, but from a well-established, private dentist, not an orthodontist. A good dentist will refer you to an ortho if necessary. I can refer you to a wonderful dentist in Tucson, if you'd like to contact me. He's competent, honest, and funny too! My toddler grandson had a blast at his first visit, I was amazed!

Just to let you know that I am not a total "dentist hater", and take dental care seriously, I'll add that my seven year old Pit Bull recently underwent surgery by a special "vet dentist", for root canals on two canines. I noticed they had turned pink while I was brushing them. The surgery cost just under $1700.00. His pet insurance reimbursed over $700.00!

Hope this info helped you and others with similar concerns! Keep us posted!

1 mom found this helpful

Hello D. my name is L. Willms and I work at a pediatric dental office in the Surprise. I would advise you to a second opinion. In our office we would not be pulling teeth on a 6 year old because of crowding. There are other options number one she is only 6 and still has alot of growing to do. Keep in mind as she grows her jaw grows too. Does she have her 6yr molars yet? If she does there is another option of putting in an appliance called an expander. It expands the shape of her mouth to fit all of her teeth. Because more then likely she will have crowded adult teeth as well. But she has a long ways to go. She has probably just started to loose her teeth if not shes going to. Where are the teeth that they are wanting to pull in the front or the back? I would get a second opinion however I would not go back to an orthodontist I would go to a pediatric dentist. They have years of extra schooling just for children so I feel they know more than a general dentist would about your child. Then if they send you to ortho take it from there. Where do you live?

L. Willms

1 mom found this helpful

Hi D., it never hurts to get a second opinion, just to put your own mind at ease. i'm 41 and had 4 permenant teeth pulled when i was about that age. i had big teeth and a little mouth. however, thank you grandma for doing that! my teeth are reletively straight, never had to have braces or anything. in fact, my grammy also had some kind of sealer put on my teeth and my first cavity came when i was 29! not sure if they still do that or not. anyway, i think it would be a good idea for her and may save her (and you!) some serious dental work in the future! good luck!

I had 4 permenant teeth removed...but I think I was older...and this was many years ago...now they do palate widening, to make room for the teeth.
I would go for the second and even a third opinion.
Try to find someone who knows more about cranial facial development...and how tooth alignment ties into that...I have seen pictures of kids who came out more attractive looking overall (not just teeth) due to proper care. (and of course poor cases) Who does not want their kids to look as good as they can?

The only opinion I have is my own experience..... when I was a girl I had 14 teeth pulled (not all at once).... I don't think my ortho started as early as 6, but a second opinion is a good idea..... my teeth turned out fine & I even had room for my wisdom teeth when all was said & done. You sweet girl will be fine regardless of how many teeth she has pulled. :)

You will be saving time and money in the long run.....my son has my small jawline.....I wished I had taken him at a younger age..I kept asking his dentist and he kept saying , no to me ...too soon he would say..... now,all of his permanent bottom middle teeth are twisted, crooked and its a mess to look at every day. Plus he is gorgeous and hates his bottom teeth, i thank god his top teeth are cute, he is 8 and just had one pulled last week....we are in for a LONG ride....he goes back to ortho in 4 months.....? maybe bumpers, braces, head gear etc,,,,all of that is his teeth future you may be able to save your daughter all that trouble and Money. get a second opinion
. but i say DO IT if the second opinion is the same result. Good luck. A. R mom of three. Both my older daughters ahd teeth pulled as they grew, they have perfect teeth. If it's crowded they have nowhere to place....go for it. She will thank you in the end.

Deanna-
While this was 20 years ago, I too had my teeth pulled at that age in order to allow my adult teeth to come in- I still needed braces, but they were able to come in ok.
A second opinion is always good- we love our dentist- Ahn and Perez in Tempe - ###-###-####

I think you should always get a second opionion, but when I had brasses I had to get my canin removed. there just is so much room in a persons mouth, and depending on the persons structure of there mouth depends on the removal of teeth. Good Luck

I would get a second opinon. That
sounds invasive. They are going to fall out on there own anyway. You can't stop perminent teeth from coming in.
Good luck,
N. White

www.aromaticbotanicals.com

hi there--i'm a dental hygienist (10 yrs). 6 teeth is kind of normal, depending. i just had a little guy today that had 6 teeth pulled, and it was very necessary. you need to work quickly sometimes bc the bones are still malleable and if you wait for them to just ;fall out;, sometimes it;s too late for the bone to be manipulated and it can lead to more extensive treatment in the future. hope this helped!!

I think you are right to get a second opinion. Anytime something does not seem/feel right you should alway follow your gut. The next doctor could tell you the same thing and IF you feel that it is the right thing to do then do it. But if your gut tells you to wait the follow your gut. You don't have to be a dentist or a doctor to know what is right for your child. IF your child is only six, then you want to do everything you can to make this a positive expierence for them as it will set the tone for their "dental life". The orthodontist recommended that both of my kids have their bottome canines pulled. My older one older child is 10 and had alrrady lost one of hers by the time of the appt. to pull them. But she was dead set against having either gas or a shoot (it was the first time that she needed anything done beyone a routine check up and she was scared) I told her she could talk to the dentist and then make a decision. When we got to the appt. they wanted me to sign a consent that said they "might" restrain my child, raise thier voice or put their hand over her mouth!!! And they said I had to wait in the waiting room, I couldn't even be in there while they were doing the numbing. When the dentist came in he wouldn't even talk to my child, just looked at me and said "I will not pull that tooth unless there numb" You would think as a pediatric dentist that he would have taken the time to talk to the patient and ease their fears. My gut told me we were done then and there. Needless to say he did not pull her tooth and I cancelled the appointment for my other child. I have since found out that he made the hair stand up on the back of my oldest childs neck everytime he was around her.

Orthodontists are definitely getting away from pulling teeth. I would get second and third opinions. Perhaps she needs some teeth pulled, but six?

Find out the doctors' philosophies about tooth-pulling before the appointment. If a doctor who doesn't like pulling teeth feels some of your daughter's teeth need to go, then you know they really do have to go!

Hi D.,

I had 9 teeth pulled when I was 11 yrs old. But I have a very small mouth. Now I only have 24 teeth and I think the average adult has about 32. So, if your child really does have a small mouth, it may be a typical procedure. However, that was nearly 20 years ago, and I find it interesting that orthos are still doing this. Also, 6 yrs old is still very young. It's surprising that she was referred to an ortho at such a young age. I'd definitely get 2 more opinions.

Good Luck!

L.

Hi D.-
I know that sounds like alot, but my dentist did that to me when I was a child. 6 teeth were pulled because my teeth were so overcrowded. I am happy to say, that I NEVER even had to have braces!! I have perfect teeth that many people comment on, and all think I must of had braces!! I wouldn't worry to much about it. It seems like alot, but it may be the best long term solution. Hope this helps!! M.

I went through the same things last August. My 8 year old at the time had major crowding issues. She has actually has had 8 teeth pulled total. The poor thing has her mother's genes, I went through the same thing, I had 16 teeth pulled all together :o) We actually just went to the dentist yesterday and her xrays looked so much better. It seemed as though her teeth were coming in a lot better. She actually has an otho appt. in July and we will see what our next step is, hopefully she won't have to have any permanent teeth pulled. I don't know if there really is anything else they can do, but to pull the teeth, there just isn't room. My personal advice is, if having her teeth pulled is your only option, then to take her to an oral surgeon, it is expensive, but absolutlely worth it. My daughter had 6 done in one day, my daughter doesn't handle pain very well, we tried going to the regular dentist, he prescribed a muscle relaxer, which did nothing. We had 2 taken out, and I stopped him and had him give me a referal for an oral surgeon. Best descision we could have made. I look back on my experience and I am very happy with my smile and I know in my heart my daughter will be very happy with hers. Good luck, the first few days are a little rough, but it gets better.

Hi D., Before I moved here to Az I had worked in a Dental Office in Ca and I would always here the Dr. telling our patients parents to wait till they are in their teens this way all of the teeth are out and fully developed. I personally think you should get a second opinion and also wait till your daughter gets alittle bit older

I am not an ortho expert. But I would definitely recommend Garn & Mason Orthodontics for your second opinion. They have been in business for many years and really know what they are doing. They are not just in it for the money- they really care about the patients. It is an awesome practice! They are located in Mesa at Lindsey and Brown.

Good luck!

My daughter started treatment with an orthodontist when she was 7 years old because of UNBELIEVABLE overcrowding. He used progressive expanders which actually changed the shape of her jaw line and made more room in her mouth for her teeth as new permanent teeth came in (the roof of her mouth was so narrow I couldn't put a finger in it). When she was about 12 or 13 he put her in braces and then a removable retainer. When he felt like her jaws had stopped growing he put in a permanent retainer. She is now 19 and has beautiful healthy teeth. It was a very long process but she will tell you it was well worth it and since we have a fabulous ortho, she developed a really good relationship with him and his staff over the years and there was a set cost, regardless of how long it took. She did have her top wisdom teeth pulled when she was 17 because the roots were in her sinus cavity and that was really hard on her, so I am very glad we avoided that kind of trauma when she was little. So I would say, our experience was that the slow and steady route for correction is preferable. Definitely get a second opinion.

Hi, I think pulling the canines is a way of the past. I had all four taken and my ortho bro in law looks at me like I am some kind of museum! He has been out of ortho school about 4 years.

I also worked as a dental assistant for a Pediatric Dentist. He would not send any of our patients to ortho's that wanted to pull the canines. There are ways around it now.

Get a second oppinion.

Hi D., Our oldest son was in the third grade when he had 6 teeth pulled for braces. The orthodontist said he normally has the parents sit down but that he needed to. He could not tell from our son's x-rays what were the upper teeth and what were the lower teeth. Our son's mouth was to small for all of his teeth. A problem I also had but I only needed 4 teeth pulled before I got my braces put on. I had never heard at getting braces at that tender age. He went through 2 sets of braces before he was done. He got them off at the age of 16. He is a grown man now and has beautiful teeth. Good luck to you. M.