Relocation of Infrapositioned Ankylosed Teeth: Description of Orthodontic Bone Stretching and Case Series

Abstract

Different treatments have been proposed to manage the consequences of ankylosed teeth. This clinical report, which includes several different clinical conditions, describes an orthodontic bone-stretching procedure that can be used to relocate ankylosed teeth. The orthodontic bone-stretching technique involves only partial osteotomies, without the mobilization or repositioning of the alveolar segment, combined with orthodontic forces. The applied force facilitates tooth movement to the occlusal plane and can modify the axis of the ankylosed tooth. This relocation is possible because of a bone-stretching phenomenon in the surgical area. In all of the cases, relocation of the ankylosed teeth was successfully performed and the gingival margins were corrected to improve the esthetic results.