23. Pediatric implants in dentistry

Congenital hypodontia or trauma is a frequent cause of loss of teeth in children. The absence if teeth leads to loss of function and lack of normal alveolar growth, along with unpleasant aesthetics that hamper the psychosocial development of the young child. Traditionally, the management of tooth loss in the young child is done by conservative means. None of those methods of treatment are completely satisfactory and have their own drawbacks. Dental implants in a young child would be an ideal mode of treatment for the absence of teeth. One of the main deterring factors for implant placement in children is the impending growth. Growth in the maxilla and mandible does not happen uniformly in one plane. It is multidirectional, occurring in sagittal, vertical, and transverse planes. The design and type of implant system used in paediatric patients is also responsible for successful treatment outcome. The aim of this presentation is to discuss the use of dental implants in normal growing patients and the influence of maxillary and mandibular skeletal and dental growth on the stability of those implants.