Congenitally missing maxillary lateral incisor treated with atypical extraction pattern

Abstract

The congenital absence of one or more maxillary lateral incisors poses a challenge to effective treatment planning for general dentists and dental specialists. An evaluation of anterior smile esthetics must include both static and dynamic evaluations of frontal and profile views to optimize both dental and facial appearance. This article presents a case with canine substitution treatment to replace a missing maxillary lateral incisor combined with the extraction of two mandibular lateral incisors and a small maxillary lateral incisor. Both the patient's occlusion and facial appearance were significantly improved after orthodontic treatment.