Until the child is old enough for implants, the spaces where the teeth should be must be kept open, points out Surrey invisible braces provider Dr. Aly Kanani.
According to the European Journal of Orthodontics, between one and two percent of children have congenitally missing upper lateral incisors. Usually it is adult teeth that are missing, but if the child is missing a baby tooth, it can mean that the adult replacement will not grow in as usual.
Kanani's Surrey orthodontics practices complete orthodontic treatment for most patients by the time they are 14 to 15. Dental implants are the treatment of choice for missing lateral incisors. But a teenager’s jaw will grow until he or she is about 18 years old, so implants cannot be inserted until then.
"Teeth will move given the opportunity, so you need a way to hold that space open for future implants. If you don't, the space will close and the patient will need additional orthodontic treatment when it’s time for the implant," says Kanani, a Surrey invisible braces provider. "So we need to maintain the space where the implant will be inserted. And we need to do so for several years."
With such patients, the Surrey braces specialist usually employs a fixed retainer which maintains the space in the patient’s mouth. This works in combination with either a removable retainer containing an artificial lateral incisor or a Maryland Bridge. The Bridge has a metal framework with an attached porcelain tooth. There are metal wings on each side of the prosthetic tooth that are bonded to the tongue side of the neighboring teeth, says the Surrey braces expert. When eating, the patient can take out the retainer and still have the lateral incisors in position.
When the patient has stopped growing, an oral surgeon will surgically insert dental implants directly into the jawbone. These implants will become anchors for the porcelain crowns that will permanently replace the missing teeth. Traditional dental implants need the patient to wait through a several month healing process that permits the implant to integrate itself into the jawbone through a process labeled osseointegration. Only then would the implant be ready to acquire a crown. Today, dentists have "immediate load" implants that allow the oral surgeon to attach the porcelain crown right away.
Kanani, a Surrey invisalign provider, observes: "Once they are in position, the dental implants and porcelain crowns will look, feel and act like natural teeth. After a while, most patients forget that those aren’t the teeth they should have been born with.”
Learn More
Visit the websites of Vancouver, Surrey and Langley orthodontists for more information: www.vancouverorthodontics.com, , or . To speak with a staff member or schedule a complimentary consultation, call (604) 629-0452. For the Surrey office, call (604) 589-2212. For the Langley office, call (604) 533-6696.
About Dr. Aly Kanani and Associates
Dr. Aly Kanani has a Bachelor's from McGill University and a Master's from the London School of Economics. He received his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree at the University of Pennsylvania – and graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy with a Master’s degree in Orthodontics. His team of board certified orthodontists provides quality, patient-focused braces and Invisalign treatment in the Greater Vancouver, BC area.
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