Facial development, continuous tooth eruption, and mesial drift as compromising factors for implant placement
Heij, D.G.O.; Opdebeeck, H.; van Steenberghe, D.; Kokich, V.G.; Belser, U.; Quirynen, M.
International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants 21(6): 867-878
2006
ISSN/ISBN: 0882-2786 PMID: 17190296 Document Number: 597639
The replacement of teeth lost by children because of trauma can be an important indication for early implant therapy. Osseointegrated dental implants, like ankylosed teeth, alter position as growth-related changes occur within the jawbones (displacement, remodeling, mesial drift). Facial growth of the child and even of the adolescent, as well as the continuous eruption of the adjacent anterior teeth, create significant risk of a less favorable esthetic and/or functional outcome. For patients with a normal facial profile, the placement of an implant should be postponed until growth is complete. For patients with a short or long face type, further growth, especially the continuous eruption of adjacent teeth, creates a serious risk even after the age of 20 years, as illustrated by some recent clinical studies. This review aims to explain these phenomena and provides some recommendations for implant placement.