Background: Aesthetics is a major aspect in growing children and teeth play a vital role in maintaining this. Loss of anterior teeth due to any reason, such as trauma, caries, or congenitally missing teeth, can cause low self-esteem and social setback. Paediatric dentists often face a challenge in rehabilitating missing anterior teeth due to poor patient compliance and the unavailability of options. Here we present a rare case report of missing permanent mandibular anterior teeth and rehabilitation using an innovative customised fixed appliance.
Case description/method: A 12-year-old boy presented with a chief complaint of missing lower anterior teeth for 3 years post extraction by the local dentist. Patient demanded a fixed treatment, and thus a novel appliance was designed and customised for the patient. Banding followed by construction of the active lingual arch with acrylic teeth attachment was constructed the shade and size selection of the teeth was done to meet aesthetic and functional demands.
Results: The patient received satisfactory treatment and was very happy with the aesthetic rehabilitation using the customised innovative appliance.
Discussion: Primary or permanent tooth loss requires a combination of treatments addressing both aesthetics and function. The dentist should try to meet these demands while simultaneously considering the patient’s socioeconomic status. Replacement of lost anterior teeth prevents psychological and social trauma to the growing patient.
Conclusion: In the present case, a fixed innovative appliance customised for aesthetic purposes was constructed. This appliance can be an alternate interim treatment to a removable appliance, with higher acceptance and reliability and is easy and quick to fabricate.
Keywords: Aesthetics, modified lingual arch, innovative appliance, novel approach
