Immediate implant placement to replace deciduous teeth followed by orthodontic treatment.
A 26-year-old female patient presented because she wanted to have her teeth straightened. Due to an aplasia of the two lower second premolars the deciduous second molars were still in place. A treatment option could have been to preserve the deciduous teeth, but in this case the decision was made to replace the baby teeth with implant restorations. The space difference between the deciduous teeth and the permanent teeth was to be used to solve the crowding of the anterior teeth.
This clinical case describes the extractions of the lower deciduous second molars, followed by immediate placement of a dental implant in each socket, which resulted in the preservation of the hard and soft tissues at the extraction site. One implant was placed distally and the other one more mesially in the gap, as on one side the gap was to be closed from the distal and on the other side from mesial.
Three months later the implants were provisionally restored and were used as anchorage for the orthodontic appliance. After the completion of the orthodontic treatment the final restorations on the implants were placed.