There is a never-ending debate among people whether or not tooth extraction is required before getting braces. Even many of our patients ask us often if tooth extractions are necessary before getting dental braces or orthodontic treatment in general. Not all patients require tooth extractions before starting orthodontic treatment. But, why do some patients require tooth extraction before getting Braces?

Before starting with the orthodontic treatment right away, your dentist will examine your teeth, and you’re oral X-ray to come up with the best treatment plan for you. As a general rule, the dentist will not recommend a tooth extraction unless they feel it is the best choice.

Here are some of the factors for which your dentist might recommend a tooth extraction before starting orthodontic treatment.

Crowding

Dental Crowding, as the name suggests is when there is insufficient space in the dental arches to fit all the teeth properly. Dental crowding may be due to heredity. The two treatment options for dental crowding include increasing the size of the arches or reducing the number of teeth in our mouth. Mild to moderate overcrowding can be treated by arch expansion. The expansion of arches can be done, only to a certain extent because they are limited by the bone structure, facial aesthetics, and supporting tissues. Over expansion of the arches can result in instability and deterioration of facial aesthetics. This is why severe dental overcrowding is first treated with tooth extraction.

Protruding teeth

The position of the lips greatly depends upon the position of the underlying teeth. The lips receive less support when the front teeth are in a protruded state. While aligning the teeth using dental braces, a few teeth on the sides may be obstructing the backward movement of the front teeth. The obstructing teeth may be needed to be removed. The extraction procedure thus enables the front teeth to have space to move behind and henceforth improving the lip posture.

Bite correction

Bite problems arise when the upper and lower jaws have mismatched sizes. Severe bite-related problems need to be fixed by jaw surgery or Orthognathic surgery. But mild to moderate bite correction can be done with a tooth extraction. Tooth extraction also helps in camouflaging the existing underlying jaw discrepancy.

Impacted Tooth

Wisdom teeth that are impacted and the wisdom teeth that have not emerged but are sure to impact in the future are also extracted before the orthodontic treatment procedure. This extraction prevents wisdom teeth to cause any trouble in the future after the orthodontic treatment has given positive results.

Other associated reasons

Extra teeth, oral asymmetry, midline shifts are also some of the other conditions that may require tooth extraction before orthodontic treatment.