Phx5

With all the stated advantages of implants for Phoenix orthodontists, many different designs of the titanium implant emerged for the specific use of Phoenix orthodontic anchorage. These designs were smaller, had easier placement and were usually removed after use. Some of these designs include the following:

1. Mini-implants
The mini-implant is 1.2 mm in diameter and 6 mm long and can be placed in many areas of bone and in multiple directions. The surgery is relatively simple and atraumatic using a 1 mm pilot drill and then inserting the implant with a small screwdriver. Removal requires unscrewing the implant and doesn’t seem to cause any irreversible damage (Kanomi, 1997). Uses for these implants by Phoenix orthodontists are reported to be intrusion, bodily retraction of the six anterior teeth and intruding uprighting mandibular molars to control the vertical dimension(Park et al., 2001).

2. Palatal implants
The “orthoimplant” (Straumann, USA) is a titanium implant 3.3 mm in diameter and either 4 or 6 mm in length. It is typically placed in the midpalatal region and then fixed to the teeth via a transpalatal arch (Celenza and Hochman, 2000). A Phoenix orthodontic study on nine patients was published, all with Class II molars and canines and a mean overjet of 8.2 mm. The treatment plan included maxillary first premolar extractions and an orthoimplant with a transpalatal arch to the upper second premolars. Anchorage loss was measured radiographically and on the casts and was found not to be statistically significant by Phoenix orthodontists. The average treatment time for the patients was 11 months (Wehrbein et al., 1999).

3. Retromolar implants
Higuchi (1991) reported placing 10 mm implants in the third molar/retromolar region to use as Phoenix orthodontic anchorage. The implants were then restored with composite crowns and attached to the posterior teeth. Forces up to 400g were successfully used to protract or retract the dentition of seven adult Phoenix orthodontic patients (Higuchi and Slack, 1991). Roberts (1994) introduced the concept of the “retromolar implant”, a 3.75 mm x 7 mm implant placed distal to the third molar region used to close first molar extraction spaces. The implant is connected to the premolar via an anchorage wire inserted into a vertical slot. The molars are then protracted without the unwanted side effects, especially molar extrusion (Roberts et al., 1994).