If you and your child have started down the path to straighter teeth with braces and your dentist has told you that some teeth are going to have to come out as there isn\u2019t enough room for them, maybe you need a second opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s all too easy for dentists to rectify apparent overcrowding in the jaw by removing some teeth and then moving the others back into the mouth until they meet side by side. Sounds like a good solution, but is it really? If you think about what teeth are for, they fulfil three roles. They prepare food for swallowing by mashing it into a paste. They work with the tongue and lips to produce distinct sounds that we form into recognisable words to communicate, and they hold our face in place. That last one might sound a bit far-fetched but ask anyone who has lost their teeth what effect it had on their face and they will tell you that teeth are vital for holding out their cheeks. People with no teeth end up with faces that collapse in on themselves. People with fewer teeth on a smaller bite have faces that are smaller and flatter, when smiles should be full and broad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n