Are Dental Extractions Bad?
They are f*cking barbaric. Now let me tell you why...
The youtube version
Years ago I remember talking to this girl on Facebook that I had met through a TMJ group. It was probably around 2017 but I don’t remember for sure.
I just remember the feeling I had talking to her.
She’d had four bicuspids extracted some years before because she’d had crowding. And so the dentist was ‘making room’ for the other teeth to be straight.
Her mom had wanted her to have nice straight teeth and had kind of pressured her into doing it. As it bothered her less according to her.
Anyway, she said it had disfigured her and that she now had anxiety and a host of other issues. As well as trouble concentrating.
Without me asking she sent me a number of photos.
Photos of her before it was done where she was a really cute teenage girl. Then photos of her recently where you could tell something had basically disfigured her face.
It had taken a lot of the dimension out of it. And her profile had gone from being a nice horizontal line to a slant like this girl above.
It was as if the energy & happiness was sucked out of her face.
I tried to be consoling and nice but she kept repeating the same things to me and it was really sad. She kept saying how much she wished she hadn’t done it and what she wouldn’t do for her ‘old life’ back.
She was hoping someone would save her.
I felt bad but was still figuring things out myself at the time. And didn’t want the responsibility of her hoping i’d fix her.
I politely made an excuse that I had to go and never talked to her again.
But the story stuck with me.
Why do dentists extract teeth?
Dentists extract teeth for various reasons: decay, infection, trauma, and often to create space for orthodontic treatment.
The most damaging practice is the extraction of four bicuspids simultaneously for orthodontic purposes - a common procedure that fundamentally alters facial structure.
While sometimes extractions are necessary, many are performed unnecessarily, driven by outdated orthodontic philosophies about dental crowding.
What often happens afterwards
Since 2014, I've witnessed countless stories in TMJ Facebook groups of people experiencing serious health issues following extractions.
These problems typically don’t get very obvious till several years after the procedure, making the connection less obvious to many.
The dentist often takes their before and after photo within weeks or months of the procedure before the structure really starts to collapse.
And so the person looks relatively ok. Like the example of this boy above.
And so the dentist slaps this photo on his website and marketing materials and counts it as a victory. But I bet if you were to find this boy above 5-10 years later.. you’d find a very different person. Probably even a broken one.
People that undergo bicuspid extractions tend to report dramatic changes in posture, facial appearance, cognitive function, and neurological health.
But the delayed onset of symptoms often makes it difficult for patients to connect their health issues to the extractions.
Why do extractions trigger ‘collapse’?
Think of your dental arch like a bridge - remove support beams, and the entire structure gradually shifts and settles.
When teeth are extracted, the remaining teeth slowly move and resettle over years.
This movement typically results in a flattening of the dental "curve of spee" - the natural upward curve of teeth from front to back.
This flattening triggers a cascade of structural changes affecting the skull, spine, and neurological system. Or as my old friend Marcello used to say “Biomechnical collapse.”
Why don't dentists know this stuff?
Dental schools teach an outdated paradigm that views teeth in isolation rather than as part of an integrated structural system.
While patients likely report problems, these complaints are probably often dismissed as unrelated due to the time delay between extraction and symptoms.
The profitability of extractions combined with plausible deniability due to delayed negative outcomes creates little incentive for change.
I think these types of extractions should be illegal
Given the severity of damage I've witnessed, it's shocking that unnecessary extractions remain legal.
I've personally seen at least ten people state that extractions ruined their lives - and that's just from a brief period in online forums years back.
If we extrapolate this, thousands are likely affected.
In a world where a single food safety incident makes headlines, it's crazy that widespread reports of life-altering complications from dental extractions go largely ignored.
Here is an entire report that was done in the UK on the topic with numerous documented cases - link.
I mean… why are people winning millions dollar lawsuits for suffering whiplash after being rearended in their car and yet here you have thousands being ruined and NOTHING is making the courts.
My friend Tiernan, that I mentioned in this article above, is a classic example of this. He grew up in the UK and was a victim of this practice of removing four teeth to ‘make space’. And i’d argue that it killed him.
There is a much easier way
These extractions are completely unnecessary in my view.
Wearing a rubber mouthguard like the one above to sleep is sufficient.
If you want to make the process faster you add flat composite height to the back teeth, which i’ve discussed before here.
While this approach takes longer, it allows the soft tissue to gradually stretch, creating natural space for the teeth to fall into line.
This method works with the body's natural processes rather than against them.
Closing thoughts
The continued practice of unnecessary dental extractions represents a significant failure in modern dentistry and the entire medical system in my view.
History will likely view this practice as barbaric - akin to how we now view many medieval medical practices.
It's particularly tragic because these extractions often trigger a biomechanical collapse process that not only shortens lives but dramatically reduces quality of life starting almost immediately afterwards.
I gave up a long time ago on expecting the dental institutions to change. Now there are other strategies to combat this shit.
We’ve got Youtube. We’ve got Tiktok. We’ve got Substack. etc.
I’m going to continue to ridicule the dentists that still do this shit.
I’m going to make them look stupid.
Perhaps even make them look evil.
And i’m hoping that many others choose to do the same.
When you meet someone that’s suffered this fate the way I have… you’ll understand why.
Thanks Ken 👍
Thanks for this post. It's the story of my life. I had 4 bicuspids extracted during 8 years of orthodontic treatment (age 10 to 18). I also had 4 wisdom teeth removed after the ortho work was finished. Fortunately, I haven't experienced cognitive or neurological decline (knock on wood); just lots of physical aches and pains.
I remember going to the orthodontist office every month or so with a payment cheque from my mom. It felt like paying someone to torture me. I had sleepless nights with excruciating pain whenever the braces were tightened. I also had to wear a headgear at one point.
Whenever I see kids wearing braces, I cringe and hope they don't end up like me. Apparently, dentists don't extract bicuspids anymore; they use palatal expanders instead.
I thought about sueing the orthodontist. But he was following the "standard of care" at the time in the 1980s, so he legally did nothing wrong. My mom did what she thought was best for me (to give me a beautiful smile). It's taken a lot of TMJ work, therapy, and forgiveness to make it this far with decent health.