Need help and advice

[sandman]

I am looking for advice for my particular situation. Heres my story. I have two teeth on my left side ( 2nd molar on the bottom and top) that are causing me problems. My dentist tells me that I will need a root canal and crown on the bottom tooth as my filling is very deep and my tooth is still very sensitive. He also tells me, I will eventually need the same treatment for the upper tooth as well. I am in the process of researching/getting braces as well. The braces are needed to correct my bite, as I have over crowding (on the top and bottom) and to fix my midline (which needs to go left about 2-3 mm).
So here is my dilema. Should I have these two teeth extracted? Would this allow for better shifting of my midline and provide more space on the bottom row.
The second part of my dilema is, I live overseas and will be returning home in 2 months. The dental prices are significantly cheaper where I live now.Can I have the orthodontist place the braces on here? or should I wait until I go home?
I thank you in advance for your advice and any experiences that you can share.
Thanks

[Zoso]

I'll respond to the easier part first: the larger proportion of the money you pay for orthodontic treatment is to cover your ongoing appointments with the orthodontist, so you'd save comparitively little (if any) by starting your treatment over there - as you'd be so early into treatment, the orthodontist who took over your case back home would probably charge almost as much as a full treatment, minus the cost of the braces themselves. And it's even possible teh new doctor might want to replace the system you have already on your teeth with one he uses more often, in which case you'd even lose that saving. It's possible too that the new doc might have a different idea of the best treatment plan for you which could potentially leave work already accomplished to be "undone". All possibilities, and maybes and perhapses, of course. But you'd probably be better off waiting until you get home, and having a few consultations then to get a better idea of what's best for your case.

My non-dental professional advice on the molars is to keep them. An asymmetric extraction like that would probably make it harder to get your midlines (the gap between your front two teeth in each arch) lined up with the middle of your face. Root canals and crowns are not the end of the world, and a root canalled and rowned natural tooth is still better to have then no tooth (or than an artificial implant, or a bridge) and teeth that have had root canal therapy and a crown can still be moved orthodontically.

Good luck.

[Sunny]

Sandman I definitely don't think you should be making decisions about having teeth removed unless it's in consultation with your long term orthodontist. This is the professional who can make the decisions with regard to how much space you need to have your crowding sorted. Often there's no need for extractions, due to space being achieved as the arches are rounded. Unnecessary extractions could mean the additional expense of implants and further treatment.

I also don't recommend you choose ortho treatment because it's cheap. If you're going to be moving during your treatment, you need to consider the affect this will have and make sensible decisions. There will be reasons, many not good, as to why the ortho costs in some country are considerably less than in others. Choose an ortho you know is reputable and a practise you can rely on for treatment.

Good luck with your research and your move.