What is the ruling on straightening the teeth, if the lower jaw is small and the teeth are overcrowded or crooked, and the teeth of the upper jaw are protruding, noting that the straightening process requires the extraction of some teeth to make more room, and that after the straightening is complete the teeth will need to be filed to remove traces of the sustance used to keep the metal in place?
Praise be to Allaah.
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan was asked about straightening the
teeth and he said, If that is necessary, such as if there is some deformity
in the teeth that needs to be corrected, then there is nothing wrong with
it. But if it is not necessary then it is not permitted., rather it is
forbidden to file the teeth or make gaps between them for the purpose of
beautification, and there is a strong warning against doing so because it is
a kind of messing about and altering the creation of Allaah.
But if this is done for the purpose of medical treatment, or
to remove a deformity or for some other need, such as when a person is
unable to eat unless his teeth are corrected, then there is nothing wrong
with that.
With regard to removing extra teeth, Shaykh Ibn Jibreen said:
there is nothing wrong with removing an extra tooth, because it deforms the
appearance and makes things difficult for a person… but it is not
permissible to file them or make gaps between them because of the
prohibition on doing so.
