When treatment modalities come about that can eliminate the need for surgery or lessen the level of patient compliance required to ensure successful treatment, orthodontists take notice.
Temporary anchorage devices - TADs- address both of those issues.
Also known as mini-implants, micro-screws, mini-screws, and temporary orthodontic implants, and some of braces experts, uses them to move teeth into optimum position to achieve proper alignment without having to move adjacent teeth.
Orthodontists say they TADs are tiny titanium alloy screws that provide anchorage once they are placed into the alveolar process. Placing a TAD is a simple surgical procedure that can be done painlessly in an oral surgeon's or an orthodontist's office by using a local anesthetic. They are removed once treatment is completed.
Malocclusion Treated With TADs
Orthodontists uses TADs to treat a variety of malocclusions. Some of those include:
Intruding molars: mini-implants can move one tooth or several teeth into proper position without affecting the position of adjacent teeth. This wasn't possible without TADs.
Canine impaction: If the canine teeth cannot drop into place because they are impacted or simply fail to erupt, TADs can be used for correction.
Molar uprighting: If the molars are mesially inclined, microimplants can upright the molar without any unwanted reciprocal movements such as extrusion and/or mesialization of the adjacent teeth. This treatment can be done without bonding brackets to the entire dentition.
Space closure: Gaps where teeth are missing can be corrected through the use of TADs.
Other orthodontic corrections has made using TADs are:
Center-line correction. Realigning and retracting front teeth. Stabilization of teeth with reduced bone support. Closing spaces where molars were removed as part of orthodontic treatment. Intruding/extruding teeth.