How to tell 7 y.o. she needs 6 baby teeth pulled?

[Anonymous]

Yep dentistry is a business, the more they can convince you to have done - the more money they make. This idea that kids teeth should be pulled out instead of left to fallout so that adult teeth can be braced to come in straight is disturbing. It is taking the need for perfection too far in my opinion. I had lots of orthodontic work done and I am still glad my parents didn't have my teeth pulled in the hopes (and it is still no guarantee) that my adult teeth would be perfectly straight.

[Anonymous]

I sure hope that if you are going to go through with it then you make sure the dentist does it at the hospital with your dd sleep. And basically, you just tell her and tell her she won't feel a thing. She'll miss one day of school, maybe 2 and then the following weekend, take her to her favorite store, restaurant, play place. Give her some balloons and a feel better card.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That palate expander is awful. I had it for two weeks as a child, then taken out and had a removable expander made and wore it for six or nine months. It was like a retainer but I could widen it every other day. Why the need fo the horrible permanent expander is beyond me.

A saggital. I had one of these, too. It had a key, but a paper clip would work in a pinch.

I also had two molars pulled to make room in my mouth.

[Anonymous]

OP again. The argument that the teeth are being pulled because the dentist wants the money doesn't work here. I have a referral to take her to an oral surgeon.

I am not going to argue whether she needed the palate expander. I had two dentists and an orthodontist tell me so.

I will get a second opinion about the teeth being pulled from the pediatric dentist and maybe the ortho in his practice.

Pulling baby teeth to me is not the same as pulling adult teeth, of which I had four pulled in addition to my wisdom teeth. That doesn't mean that adult teeth sometimes need to be pulled too. My teeth were impacted and would never have come in correctly, so they were removed. The desire for functional teeth is not the same as the desire for perfect teeth.

My daughter has a crossbite. She will unnaturally wear down her teeth without correction. We are not taking about me getting her a nose job, boob job, or face lift.

Tell me ladies, would you date a man with a misshapen mouth and crooked, sheared down teeth? I think no. Appearance does matter, whether you like it or not.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP-

I just want to recommend an Orthodontist with a very conservative approach to teeth pulling/orthodontia,who also happens to have a good reputation (and a large/busy practice, in case you want a second opinion that is not tied in any way to your current dentist/orthodontist. Both of my kids are being treated here, and my older DS was able to just wear a retainer at night to solve a severe crowding issue (to my surprise) while waiting for his baby teeth to come out. He's 12, and we're still waiting for the last 2. Anyway, I'd recommend Luposello and Marzban in McLean. I'm just sometimes surprised by the early work that is recommended by some, and I like the conservative approach they have--and I've seen the adult results of their work. I'm not trying to criticize you or your decisions--I had a lot of dental work done at an early age, and it can be traumatic. Just wanted to offer an alternative for another opinion.

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids each had 4 baby teeth pulled before orthodontia started. The pediatric dentist did them two at a time. We said they were having them 'taken out' -- I couldn't stand to say 'pulled', because I'd had both baby teeth and 4 permanent teeth pulled in my childhood and it was a horrible experience for me. Both of my kids did just fine. The oldest had to be given a little something to make him a little loopy first, because he was a nervous patient when he was younger. In my house, the Tooth Fairy leaves double the reward for teeth when the dentist takes them out.

Why??????? WTF is wrong with having them fall out on their own when they are ready to come out? Oh yeah- the dentist wouldn't get paid for that.

Denistry is filled with scammers--my dentist of 35 years told me this. I have recommended at least 5-6 different people to him over the last 10 years when they were given weird recs from their dentists--including my own DH who at 41 has never had a single cavity in his life or braces. My siblings and I all have fairly straight teeth,no braces, no root canals, very few cavities--all without the pediatric dentistry hoopla-sealants, extractions, etc.

My kids now see my dentist instead of a pediatric one.

Who is your dentist, and where? I need a good one. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again. The argument that the teeth are being pulled because the dentist wants the money doesn't work here. I have a referral to take her to an oral surgeon.

I am not going to argue whether she needed the palate expander. I had two dentists and an orthodontist tell me so.

I will get a second opinion about the teeth being pulled from the pediatric dentist and maybe the ortho in his practice.

Pulling baby teeth to me is not the same as pulling adult teeth, of which I had four pulled in addition to my wisdom teeth. That doesn't mean that adult teeth sometimes need to be pulled too. My teeth were impacted and would never have come in correctly, so they were removed. The desire for functional teeth is not the same as the desire for perfect teeth.

My daughter has a crossbite. She will unnaturally wear down her teeth without correction. We are not taking about me getting her a nose job, boob job, or face lift.

Tell me ladies, would you date a man with a misshapen mouth and crooked, sheared down teeth? I think no. Appearance does matter, whether you like it or not.

I am the PP who was also told to have 6 teeth pulled on DS. He had a severs crossbite. Those can be fixed with braces. You don't need to pull a ton of teeth to accomplish that. In fact one reason we didn't have them all pullled at once is becuse he needed teeth to put the braces on to fix the crossbite! You really need to get a second opinion and sit down to really speak with someone. I worry that you are getting some very bad information on what orthodantia can fix now. Really, they can do anything (withouth pulling teeth) except create jaw and create genetically missing teeth.

[Anonymous]

PP. Thanks. OP here. You response is very helpful.

[Anonymous]

OP, I was your daughter.

In second grade I started with the spacers and the palatal expander. I have a very small mouth and I had an extreme overbit and narrow palate. I remember the headaches and my mom used to cry every time she cranked the expander. It was uncomfortable and I didn't like it.

Then, in 3rd grade, they started yanking teeth. Over the next few years I had a total of 13 baby teeth pulled. I still remember what it feels like when they are yanking out your molars. I have a very high tolerance to novocaine as a result. Many didn't grow back in for at least 6 months. My parents nicknamed me 'gumby'. I had to wear headgear every night and retainers with lip bumpers during the day, until I was a freshmen in high school (age 14) and all my teeth had finally grown in.

Then I had traditional braces for 9 months. Got them removed in 10th grade, had my wisdom teeth out, and had perfect teeth.

DH had the same issue. He got a palatal expander at age 13 and his parents ENJOYED cranking it Then he had braces for a little over a year and was done. Yes he was mocked (as ALL children are) for his buck teeth, but he didn't endure years of orthodontic torture before then.

Make your own decision, but please do whatever is in the best interest of your daughter - and I really don't think that means yanking all her teeth out and starting so early. And oh, after all that, my teeth STILL moved when I stopped wearing my retainer 8 years after my braces came off. (Not to mention, I lost a heck of a lot of retainers in trash cans over the years...)

[Anonymous]

And OP, your daughter will not have her baby teeth as an adult. So your concerns about her 'wearing them down' are moot. If you are that concerned (maybe she grinds her teeth at night? because otherwise teeth don't really wear unevenly), then get her a mouth guard after her permanent teeth grow in.

[Anonymous]

OP's concers are not crazy. Typically with a crossbite you wear the front teeth down. Most kids have at least lost and/or have their front adult teeth coming in around 7 so you do have to think about those issues earlier than others. That said it is a quick phase 1 6/9 month long to fix it.

[Anonymous]

I have a small jaw, and had a crossbite, and an overbite. My parents didn't have my teeth pulled. I had to wear a special retainer for awhile and I had braces for a year. I have a permanent bar behind my front teeth that keeps them straight. It was fine. I don't know that there are any guarantees that if you pull her teeth now she still won't need work when she is older. Between what will fall out naturally and the 6 being pulled, the child will barely have any teeth.

[Anonymous]

We had area ortho say to extract 6 teeth, only to get two second opinions confirming this is not necessary and certainly not at 7 years old. Hard to tell who to who to trust and always wonder.

[Anonymous]

I agree with PPs on a second opinion. For both my kids we had orthodontists recommend early intervention including palatal expanders. We then trekked out further away to have a family friend who’s an orthodontist give us an opinion. He said wait and watch which we did. He ended up doing our kids’ braces all in one shot and their teeth look great. YMMV but it’s worth it to get another opinion before taking such serious measures.

[Anonymous]

As is the norm on DCUM, no one actually answered her question. OP, I wouldn’t give her much of the details ahead of time as it sounds scary and I would make sure I had a gift waiting at the end of the session for being a brave girl. And maybe some ice cream for dessert too once she feels up to eating again.