What is the appropriate age for dental implant placement?

Bruna Moog Ely, Carlos Alberto Estevanell Tavares

Introduction: The absence of a tooth may cause functional, esthetic and emotional problems to a patient. For more than three decades, osseointegrated implants have been used as an alternative method to replace missing teeth, as they have shown good long-term results. Single tooth implants are placed in many young patients, but slight changes in position of the gingival margin may compromise the esthetic outcomes of such rehabilitations. Implants retard vertical dentoalveolar development, for this reason, they are compared to ankylosed teeth by many authors, as they do not erupt together with adjacent teeth. In the case of patients that could still grow up, that means the implant-supported prostheses may result in infra-occlusion. Objective: Since a variety of authors report post-adolescent growth, this literature review aimed to indicate the most adequate moment for osseointegrated implant placement, taking into account residual craniofacial growth.

Keywords: Endosseous dental implant. Maxillofacial development. Age determination by skeleton.

How to cite: Ely BM, Tavares CAE. What is the appropriate age for dental implant placement? Dental Press Implantol. 2014 Apr-June;8(2):91-9. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14436/2237-650X.8.2.091-099.oar

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