How many do you pull out?

[greencat]

I took my DD7 to an Orthodontist yesterday. She has big permanent tooth that can not come out due to crowding. The two adult teeth on the bottom is out, but the one on the top is coming out from gum line above where tooth should line up.

The Ortho had recommended to take her baby tooth out, so the permanent teeth can descend as nicely as possible at this age: Two on each side, both top and bottom. This means, altogether 8!

My husband thought it would be easier to get it over with. I'm thinking one side at a time, minimum of two weeks apart for healing time.

Does anyone have done this for your kids??

[ChickityChinah]

I had 6 baby teeth extracted when I was 8 years old. They did it under what I guess is Twilight Sedation, I remember drinking something and then a needle but I didn't care... and then I woke up and it was all done. And I had a combination of empty spots and nubs. Some of my permanent teeth were already erupted but the primary teeth were so crowded they were keeping themselves stuck there. I had to swish with salt water a few times a day and eat soft foods for a couple days. But once it was done, the healing was pretty quick and the teeth on deck came in very quickly- I'd say within a month (IIRC, that was 30 years ago now!) 4 of the 6 were at least halfway erupted. I think it would have been a lot harder to do them in stages. It sounds more invasive to you, Mama, than it really is...think about what a baby tooth looks like when it comes out. There is barely any root there and they really do just pop right out and the healing time is nothing compared to an adult extraction where you can have things like dry socket, etc. She'll be sore for a couple days but she can eat lots of ice cream .

So, if it were us in that situation, if my DD's temperment could handle it, I'd just do it. And if she's schooled out of the home, I would do it soon so that hopefully she'll have a few teeth coming in before school starts. She's your DD and you know her better than anyone. If she has a big fear and it's very traumatic for her, I'd do it all at once so she doesn't have to go through it twice.

I imagine that once the extractions are done, the Orthodontist wants to give her a retainer or spacers to guide the teeth as they come in? Good Luck!