Treatment options of untreatable traumatized anterior maxillary teeth for future use of dental implantation.

The anterior maxilla is the most traumatized region during childhood. Posttraumatic complications occasionally lead to tooth loss as well as the need for future implants. Unfortunately, it is contraindicated to place dental implants during childhood. A waiting period of approximately 8 to 10 years before completion of growth is required. For this patient to become a candidate for future dental implants, it is necessary to ensure the continuous growth and to preserve the dimensions of the alveolar process until growth has ceased from time of injury until joint maturation. To achieve these goals, it is essential to coordinate the treatment sequence at the time of trauma. After loss of a traumatized anterior permanent maxillary incisor in young adults, treatment options are limited: orthodontic closure of the gap and reshaping the adjacent teeth, or tooth extraction and maintaining the gap with a temporary restoration. Orthdontic space closure has limited indications and requires prosthetic restoration of at least 2 teeth. Extraction and temporary restoration will usually lead to bone augmentation before implantation. Other possible treatment options include orthodontic extrusion of the root remnant (in cases of untreatable root fracture or complicated crown-root fracture) and a temporary crown to serve the patient until the completion of growth and development, autogenous tooth transplantation, intentional extraction and immediate tooth replantation, distraction osteogenesis, and decoronation. Because general rules do not apply, individual treatment plans are necessary.