The Orthodontic Treatment of Impacted Teeth

Impacted teeth have provided an ongoing challenge to the dental profession and many of its specialties have offered treatment modalities in widely differing styles. In the long-term, it has come to be recognized that superior results are obtainable by the orthodontic/surgical modality. There is, however, a considerable difference of opinion between these two specialities as to which procedures should be carried out first and to what lengths each should be pursued. This text proposes in which difficulties posed by impactions may be overcome with an integrated orthodontic surgical strategy. It emphasizes the importance of determining an appropriate directional traction force and presents ways of effecting this with the use of different types of orthodontic auxiliaries. The relationship between these factors and a favourable prognosis of the completed treatment result is stressed. A rang of issues affecting impacted teeth, including an extensive review of their diagnostic and management procedures, and aetiology is presented.