Dental implants in pediatric dentistry: A review article

Abstract

Loss of teeth in children is commonly caused due to traumatic exposure or anodontia. It can lead to loss of masticatory function, altered speech, lack of self confidence and mal-alignment of teeth overtime. This hampers the esthetic and psychosocial development of children. Management of missing teeth can be done using removable prosthesis or fixed prosthesis and implants. The removable prosthesis can lead to residual ridge resorption and several periodontal problems and can cause oral hygiene maintenance issues in a child for which dental implants are considered to be an ideal mode of treatment for tooth loss. Placing an implant in a growing child can cause undue effects on maxillary and mandibular skeletal growth for which the dentist must plan a treatment taking into account the total number of missing teeth, degree of skeletal growth and related psychological stress to the child.