Hi Dr. Hall,
First I would like to say, “Thank You” for putting up this site. I was looking for more advice online and came upon your site. I am hoping you can help me.
I am 22 years old and my cosmetic dentist says that I should get my upper wisdom teeth extracted, both at the same time, in order to put braces on me.
I need braces because I have a missing right incisor so my canine is taking up the space in the middle between my front teeth and the molar; an unerupted left canine, and a baby incisor also on the left.
I am apprehensive (about the extractions) because my wisdom teeth don’t bother me and they are not crooked or impacted. They have just erupted about a month or so ago though. I also have my bottom wisdom teeth, but my dentist says that they can stay in. How come my upper ones have to go and the bottom ones can stay? I need some advice in order to make my decision before signing the consent form. I am very apprehensive about the procedure.
Thank you again.
Have a good day,
Jasmine from Wisconsin
Dear Jasmine,
First, I’m not going to call your dentist a cosmetic dentist automatically, because only a fraction of the dentists who claim to be cosmetic dentists actually are, in my opinion. They have to be a true artist, not just a good dentist, for me to call them a cosmetic dentist.
About your case. I’m assuming from what you’ve told me that the dentist is wanting to use the braces to make space for the unerupted canine and your missing permanent incisors, though I don’t know this is the case. I hope he or she is not going to put your canine teeth right next to the central incisors and then try to make the canines look like lateral incisors. That is very, very difficult to pull off without looking funny, because the canines are simply too big.
But I would have the wisdom teeth removal done, if that is what your dentist recommends. If they are already erupted, these tooth extractions will be very simple, and it seems reasonable that something has to give in order to make some space for moving the other teeth.
Having said that, I’m leery about having a general dentist do braces for your case. It sounds a little tricky. Maybe your dentist is truly expert with braces, but maybe not. I would lean toward having this done by an orthodontist who has had all that extra schooling. If your dentist truly knows what he or she is doing, then I apologize for raising this question.
Dr. Hall
About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.