Can You Get Braces Without Removing Wisdom Teeth?

Orthodontic treatment can improve the alignment of your teeth and bite to help you have a healthy smile. But for some patients, this treatment may be interrupted by a concern about their wisdom teeth erupting.

Wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, rarely fit with the rest of your mouth and usually need to be removed. Getting braces without wisdom tooth removal is possible, but it depends on your age and the opinion of your orthodontist and dentist.

Waiting for wisdom teeth to erupt

Wisdom teeth are the third set of molars and erupt in the late teens or early 20s. While they are not required like other teeth, they can cause problems if left untreated.

Unlike other molars, which erupt in a vertically forward motion, wisdom teeth can erupt sideways or even in between your gums. These crooked eruptions can cause significant issues with your bite, leading to crowded teeth and additional orthodontic work down the road.

Impacted wisdom teeth can also push on adjacent molars, causing them to shift and become misaligned. This can lead to a variety of problems including a crooked bite, decay and infection on the adjacent tooth, and even bone loss around that tooth.

If your wisdom teeth are impacted, you might notice symptoms such as tenderness, swelling, and pain in the area of the tooth. This is a condition known as pericoronitis.

Removing wisdom teeth

Many people are concerned about whether they can get braces without having to remove their wisdom teeth. The answer depends on your age and the opinions of an orthodontist and dentist.

In general, orthodontic treatment should occur before wisdom teeth erupt to avoid creating further problems later in life. Often this means that a patient will get x-rays during the teen years to check for wisdom tooth growth and positioning.

If the dentist and orthodontist believe that a person needs to have their wisdom teeth removed, they will likely recommend removal before getting braces.

This can help avoid complications such as tooth decay, gum disease and other issues that arise from wisdom teeth crowding teeth and creating irregular gaps in the mouth.

There is some evidence to suggest that the eruption of a wisdom tooth may cause dental crowding, but there is no scientific proof that this occurs in every case. Nonetheless, some orthodontists will still recommend removal as a precaution, especially if a person’s teeth are already misaligned.

Getting braces after wisdom teeth removal

When a child gets their braces, many parents ask whether they should remove their wisdom teeth first or wait to have them removed after their treatment. This is a difficult question to answer, as everyone’s situation is different.

One thing to know is that impacted wisdom teeth (those that haven’t fully erupted) can create complications, such as inflammation, infections, and damaged bone. This is why it’s important to get them checked out before they begin erupting, so that your orthodontist can identify these problems and treat them properly.

Fortunately, wisdom teeth don’t exert enough pressure on nearby teeth to cause the alignment of your teeth to shift. This means that your orthodontist should not need to remove your wisdom teeth before or during your orthodontic treatment.

Getting braces after wisdom teeth extraction

While most patients don’t need their wisdom teeth to be removed before starting braces, there are a few cases when this might be the best option. For one, most orthodontists will recommend removing wisdom teeth before treatment to prevent them from causing any further problems with the treatment process.

The removal of wisdom teeth can also reduce the risk of impacted teeth and other problems. Impacted teeth can become infected and damage the jaw and gums, causing inflammation and pain.

In addition, they can push other teeth out of place and cause alignment issues to arise. This could result in lower crowding and a relapse of the results from previous orthodontic treatment.

Getting braces before the eruption of wisdom teeth is ideal. This way, your orthodontist can be sure to avoid any potential complications from the erupting teeth and can start treatment on time to give you or your child the smile you want.