Interdisciplinary treatment of a nonsyndromic oligodontia patient with implant-anchored orthodontics

We successfully treated a nonsyndromic oligodontia patient with implant-anchored orthodontics and prosthetic restorations. A woman, age 18 years 11 months, had a straight profile and a skeletal Class I jaw-base relationship but had spaced arches because of 7 congenitally missing teeth. After leveling and alignment of the dentition, a titanium miniscrew was temporarily placed at the distal alveolus of the mandibular right first premolar, and the posterior teeth were mesialized to reduce the restorative spaces. After determination of the incisor positions, 3 dental implants were respectively inserted at the sites of the maxillary canines and the mandibular left lateral incisor with guided bone regeneration procedures. Then, screw-retained temporary prostheses were delivered after subepithelial connective tissue grafting and used for molar mesialization as absolute anchorage. After 36 months of active orthodontic treatment, an acceptable occlusion was achieved, both functionally and esthetically, with the 3 dental implants. The maxillary and mandibular molars were mesialized, but the changes of incisor position were minimal. As a result, a proper facial profile was maintained, and an attractive smile was achieved. The resultant occlusion was stable throughout a 3-year retention period. In conclusion, interdisciplinary treatment combined with orthodontics, implant surgery, and prosthodontics was useful for a nonsyndromic oligodontia patient. Especially, the new strategy—implant-anchored orthodontics—can facilitate the treatment more simply with greater predictability.