Orthosurgical treatment including anchorage from a palatal implant to correct an infraoccluded maxillary first molar in a young adult

Tooth ankylosis during adolescence and early adulthood can lead to infraocclusion and several interrelated, adverse sequelae at the intra-arch and interarch levels. An orthosurgical treatment modality that includes surgical luxation and immediate orthodontic traction is recommended as a conservative approach in many patients. The key to success in this approach is the timely delivery of relatively heavy and continuous forces to the luxated tooth to prevent its reankylosis. Because high reactive forces are inevitably generated, it is crucial to create a reliable source of anchorage. This report describes the successful use of an osseointegrated orthodontic implant to reinforce the anchorage during the orthosurgical repositioning of an infraoccluded molar in a young adult.