Prosthetic considerations for orthodontic implant site development in the adult patient.

Proper site development is a key factor for long-term clinical success of dental implants. Whereas surgical and restorative techniques have been refined to ensure predictable functional and esthetic outcome, individual clinical prerequisites do not always allow proper placement of implants when prosthetic and material properties are considered. Orthodontic tooth movement may be a viable and nonsurgical site development treatment option. With the introduction and advancements of minimal invasive and less visible orthodontic appliances, a growing number of adult patients are willing to obtain orthodontic treatment. The spectrum of modern appliances is broad and ranges from clear aligners to lingual brackets. Skeletal anchorage devices such as orthodontic mini-implants often eliminate unpopular external anchorage devices (ie, headgear) in adult patients, This article discusses the selection of an appropriate pretreatment approach by taking patient-specific criteria into account.

Vertical and sagittal growth in patients with unilateral and bilateral cleft lip and palate-a retrospective cephalometric evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the craniofacial vertical and sagittal jaw relationship in patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP) differed from that of age-matched noncleft controls, before and after the pubertal growth spurt. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. PATIENTS: The study group comprised 126 patients with CLP, subdivided according to gender and cleft type, and the control group comprised 53 age-matched skeletal class I patients. METHODS: Angular and linear measurements were taken from prepubertal and postpubertal lateral cephalograms of all patients. RESULTS: In patients with cleft lip and palate, the maxillary retrognathism became more remarkable with increasing age; whereas, the retrognathic position of the mandible became less pronounced as compared with controls. Reduced posterior midfacial height, a common prepubertal finding in patients with cleft lip and palate, was significant in postpubertal girls and young women with unilateral cleft lip and palate (p = .002). The total anterior facial height in male patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate was larger than in control patients (p = .002) after the pubertal growth spurt due to an increased anterior midfacial height. In male patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate, this finding was due to an increased anterior lower facial height (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with cleft lip and palate treated according to a standardized treatment concept had adequate craniofacial jaw relationships after puberty. Despite a measured skeletal class I in both male and female patients with cleft lip and palate regardless of cleft type, there was a slight tendency toward a skeletal class III. Findings were similar for all groups of cleft lip and palate patients irrespective of the type of orthodontic treatment performed.

Restoration of a nonrestorable central incisor using forced orthodontic eruption, immediate implant placement, and an all-ceramic restoration: a clinical report.

The long-term clinical and esthetic success of an implant-supported restoration is determined by stable periimplant soft-tissue morphology that is in harmony with the surrounding tissue architecture of the natural dentition. An interdisciplinary approach can significantly improve predictability when restoring missing teeth in the anterior maxilla. This clinical report describes the application of forced orthodontic eruption prior to initiation of surgical and restorative implant treatment to achieve a coronal shift of bone and gingiva and enhance the 3-dimensional topography of the recipient implant site.