Invisalign to Treat Protruding Upper and Lower Front Teeth with Few Crowding? (photo)

Question

I visited several orthodontists in my area and all except 1 said I am not a candidate for invisalign. All agreed on extraction of 2 upper and 2 lower premolars. I already had traditional braces before. He pulled my teeth to correct the issue and now it is worser than before. I don't want to go through that again in my age. Can't i have invisalign achieve some what satisfactory result. I am not looking for perfect teeth just moderately straight with all my teeth in my mouth. Please help

Jacqueline Demko, DDS, MSD · Answer

To get rid of the protruding look you will need four teeth out. This will require braces and about wo years. Invisalign will not reduce the protrusion but can align the teeth. Have your Dr do a diagnostic set up both ways so you can make an informed choice

Leonard Tau, DMD · Answer

I agree with Dr. Neuhaus, I am also NOT a big fan of extracting bicuspids. You can achieve some improvement with Invisalign by doing IPR (Interproximal Reduction).

Jay Neuhaus, DDS · Answer

I am NOT a big fan of extracting bicuspids. You can achieve some improvement with Invisalign by doing IPR (Interproximal Reduction). The dentist will gain space by lightly "sandpapering" in between your teeth.

Robert Waxler, DMD, MS · Answer

Your teeth are extremely protrusive and ideally this requires the extraction of the four first premolars (you say you had teeth already extracted for braces but they must have been baby teeth...you really should have had permanent teeth extracted at that time)

	Having said all this you certainly can get a big improvement in your dental alignment without extractions if you can live with the protrusion and this could be done with Invisalign.  As long as you know the pros and cons of each option everything should be fine

Invisalign to Treat Protruding Upper and Lower Front Teeth with Few Crowding? (photo)

Answers (4)