Options for Patients

In orthodontics, extraction of a tooth or teeth may be recommended for three basic reasons:
There is not enough space for all the permanent teeth to erupt, which will result in overcrowding.
When protrusion or displacement of the upper front teeth is severe.
To correct the alignment of a bad bite.

An example of a case in which extraction may be necessary is the orthodontic condition of overjet, in which the upper front teeth ‘jet out’ over the lower teeth. Teeth in the upper arch may be removed to allow braces to move the teeth back, reducing overjet and changing the position of the upper lip. If teeth are completely blocked out of alignment, extractions may also be required to decrowd.

However, not everyone or every case requires extraction. To determine your or your child’s treatment plan, we begin with a face evaluation and a clinical examination. In children, cases that might, at first glance, seem to require extraction may not if we begin treatment at such a time as to take advantage of a child’s pre-puberty growth.

We do not subscribe to a philosophy that extractions are necessary or unnecessary. After careful examination, consideration and planning, we determine whether extraction is right for each patient on a case-by-case basis.