|
Question:
Wisdom Tooth Extraction: My daughter has some very SERIOUS problems with her wisdom teeth.
The teeth on her lower jaw are very close to a major nerve. Even the oral surgeon we visited is worried about nerve damage and possible lower facial paralysis.
I have two questions:
Why can't he remove a bicuspid instead, so that the wisdom teeth have room to erupt? Couldn't braces then be used to move the wisdom teeth forward?
Second: isn't there some way to loosen teeth BEFORE they are extracted? Aren't there ligaments (sorry if that's the wrong terminology) that help hold teeth in place? Why couldn't they be weakened chemically or with ultrasonics BEFORE extraction? That would make extractions far less traumatic ...Visitor from CA
Answer:
Loosen Teeth Before Extracted?
There are methods of extracting teeth that soften the bone before the extraction using drugs but when chemicals are introduced in one area of the body, they can have a negative long term effect in other parts of the body.
We are continuing to develop techniques that are less traumatic but there still are risks to treatment. As a general rule, younger people heal very well even if there was trauma to the nerve.
You can also get a CT Scan of the jaw and root of the wisdom tooth in relation to the nerve to visually determine if the risks are really high. The CT scan can help see the proximity of the nerve to the root of the tooth.
Extract the Bicuspid Instead of Wisdom Tooth?
To avoid the risks of permanent nerve damage, the bicuspid tooth can be extracted instead of the wisdom tooth and the molar teeth can be moved forward to close the space. The problem is "anchorage" to get enough force to leverage against the molars to move them forward.
Generally, the orthodontist has to have the patient in braces for at least a year to get a heavy enough wire on the teeth and then move only one molar at a time very slowly. However, there are a variety of circumstances that can make this choice impossible.
Editorial Staff
Return to Extractions FAQ
Return to FAQ Index
You also have the option of using Google search technology to conduct a specific search within our databases to find more specific information. Use key words or short phrases:
|
|
