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Maxillary lateral incisor teeth become missing for a number of reasons. Either they have never developed, and the orthodontist has created a space for them to be symmetrically replaced, or they have have had caries or dental pathology that has required their removal.
Aesthetically, the loss of the lateral incisor can be disastrous. Traditional forms of lateral incisor replacement (such as bridges, or dentures), whilst aesthetic, often lead to a lifetime of dental problems with adjacent teeth as they eventually succumb to the effects of dental tooth preparation.
Historically, the lost lateral incisor has been replaced with a range of dental treatments, including the removable denture, as well as fixed full-crown bridges, or by use of Maryland bridge work.
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Traditional forms of dental bridge work by way of full crowns (left side) and Maryland (right side) to replace lost lateral incisor teeth. Note the significant tooth preparation that is required of the adjacent natural teeth to accommodate the dental prostheses. Whilst the appearance of the bridge work can be very aesthetic, dental bridge work has on average a mean 5 year survival rate. |
Frontal view showing tooth preparation required to fit full-crown or Maryland bridge work to replace the missing lateral incisor. |
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Never ideal, dentures and bridges often place unproportional biological burdens on the adjacent natural teeth, and often... Lead to loss of more teeth.
The maintained aesthetic effects of bridge work is usually counted in months or years, before deterioration of local gums and prepared teeth occurs.
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Titanium dental implants, utilising zirconia abutments, and blended porcelain enamel hues, are the closest that dentistry has come to replicating natural teeth. With careful consideration as to implant sizes and surgical emergence profiles, titanium implants offer the best chance to replace teeth that are about to become, or which have long since been lost.
Dental implants are not for everyone, and for some complex surgical planning may be required before implant surgery can proceed. For more information on the results that can be obtained with maxillary lateral incisor implants, click on the following links for individual case histories...
This 43 year old male lost his left lateral incisor due to a gum abscess that arose despite root canal treatment some years previously. Loss of the tooth was aesthetically disastrous, and he was becoming increasingly intolerant of a denture wearing. Unable to commit to the preparatory processes inherent in dental bridge manufacture, the client elected instead for a dental implant... Read more
This 19 year old female never developed her upper right lateral incisor. This common condition lead to a shift of her maxillary midline, which ultimately was correctedfor by her orthodontist; he created a lateral incisor "space" for later implant replacement, and to provide for smile symmetry. The space was temporarily filled by a Maryland bridge, incorporated into a fixed orthodontic retainer wire. This temporary aesthetic measure allowed for bone grafting, and then later implant replacement to the area... Read more
This 17 year old male presented with 7 missing teeth and 5 retained deciduous teeth. The teeth had not developed at birth, and he had retained deciduous teeth as there were no permanent teeth pushing through... Read more
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