my dentist just informed me today that he’s going to have to pull some teeth before my 17-18 year molars come in because they wouldn’t have enough room. are there any alternatives to pulling teeth? why can’t they just somehow stop my molars from coming in? i’ve done fine without them for this long.
IANAD, but I had this done when I was sixteen. Don’t sweat it, you won’t miss them. I had the same problem, too many teeth, not enough mouth. Wore braces junior and senior year of high school (didn’t get too much grief). My dentist still raves about what nice teeth I’ve got twen…cough, cough years later. See? 
oh, i’m sure i won’t miss them; i just don’t like the idea of this. it’s going to be like… well… having teeth pulled. all i can say is they best give me some good drugs.
The worse you’ll feel is a needle for the Novacaine or equivilent. If your dentist doesn’t offer gas, go ahead and request it (my dentist, for example, doesn’t use gas a t all unless someone asks for it). If you have an impacted tooth (like one of my wisdom teeth was), it’ll not hurt, but you’ll feel him breaking it into pieces and wondering why it doesn’t hurt. You probably won’t be able to eat very much the first day or two.
I had all four wisdom teeth pulled. My jaw wouldn’t open all the way with them in there, so they had to come out. I felt fine the next day. I guess I was lucky, as I had no swelling and no pain afterward. I’ve heard others not being as lucky, especially the guy I woke up next to, who was wimpering.
I have never heard of any way – or even any attempt – to stop teeth from “coming in.”
Sometimes when there are several teeth to be removed, especially large ones, you are sent to an oral surgeon who will be properly equipped to do the job while you are under a light anaesthetic.