Implant Interactions with Orthodontics

Many situations arise in which orthodontic therapy in conjunction with implant modalities is beneficial, relevant or necessary. These situations might entail orthodontic treatment preparatory to the placement of an implant, such as in the site preparation for implant placement. Traditionally, this has been somewhat well understood, but there are certain guidelines that must be adhered to as well as diagnostic steps that must be followed. Provision of adequate space for implant placement is of paramount importance, but there is also the consideration of tissue manipulation and remodeling which orthodontic therapy can achieve very predictably and orthodontists should be well versed in harnessing and employing this modality of site preparation. In this way, hopeless teeth that are slated for extraction can still be utilized by orthodontic extraction to augment tissues, both hard and soft, thereby facilitating site development. On the corollary, and representing a significant shift in treatment sequencing, there are many situations in which orthodontic mechanotherapy can be simplified, expedited, and facilitated by the placement of an implant and utilization as an integral part of the mechanotherapy. Implants have proven to provide excellent anchorage, and have resulted in a new class of anchorage known as “absolute anchorage”. Implants can be harnessed as anchors both in a direct and indirect sense, depending upon the dictates of the case. Further, this has led to the development of orthodontic miniscrew systems and techniques, which can have added features such as flexibility in location and placement, as well as ease of use and removal. As orthodontic appliances evolve, the advent of aligner therapy has become mainstream and well accepted, and many of the aforementioned combined treatment modalities can and should be incorporated into this relatively new treatment modality as well.