Clinicians agree that tooth agenesis regardless of gender or race becomes more prominent in recent societies. The congenital absence of one or more maxillary lateral incisors is a challenge to effective treatment planning for the restorative dentist. The one-sided orthodontic approach of moving canines mesially to eliminate restorative procedures also leads to compromise. Adult patients presenting with malocclusions, missing lateral incisors, and anterior crowding, who request esthetic solutions without proper orthodontic treatment will get compromised results. The avoidance of establishing a stable occlusion, proper alignment and proper axial inclination of the teeth compromises esthetic and periodontal results. Evaluation of anterior smile esthetics must include both static and dynamic evaluations of frontal and profile views to optimize both dental and facial appearance. This article presents how orthodontics is related with other specialties in treating congenitally missing lateral incisor. One case is used to illustrate how orthodontic treatment is progressed in collaboration with other specialists.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCEPatients with missing teeth, crowding, midline deviation, unesthetic gingival contours, or other restorative needs may require the interaction between different specialists. For the successful treatment of orthodontic-restorative patients, interdisciplinary team management is vital.
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