Osseointegrated dental implants as alternative therapy to bridge construction or orthodontics in young patients: seven years of clinical experience.

Young patients often require fixed bridgework or orthodontic therapy in cases of traumatic tooth loss or congenitally missing teeth. Dental implants represent an alternative to the more conventional treatment methods. We report positive experience over a seven-year period with 42 titanium Ha-Ti implants in 34 patients aged 9 to 18 years. Fourteen implants were placed into prepared tooth sockets immediately after traumatic luxation of anterior teeth in 12 patients aged 9 to 18 years (median age 16). An additional 22 patients (median age 15.5, range 11 to 18) also received implants (N = 28), but these were placed only after healing of extraction sites, or as substitutes for congenitally missing teeth. Implants remained in situ for an average of 7.7 months before loading. During the healing period, three implants were lost due to additional trauma and one became infected. The 38 remaining implants osseointegrated and since have been loaded for five to 79 months in successful function. There was no difference between immediate and delayed implants in clinical success. These experiences demonstrate that appropriate, versatile, osseointegrated implants can provide a successful treatment method for young patients, without damaging adjacent teeth.