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Introduction and Objective: Agenesis of one or more teeth is common among patients who are referred for orthodontic treatment. The most common treatments are orthodontic space closure (SC) and implant replacement (IR), which are widely studied, but the experiences of patients receiving these treatments have received little attention. The aim of this qualitative study is to explore how treatments to address missing maxillary lateral incisors (MMLIs) are experienced by individuals who are treated using either orthodontic SC or IR., Materials and Methods: This study is conducted in Sweden and based on semi-structured interviews with 13 individuals who have completed treatment, either orthodontic SC (n = 7) or IR (n = 6), to address the lack of one or two maxillary lateral incisors. Data were analysed in accordance with the grounded theory approach., Results: Findings were classified into the main category of being different during treatment and into three associated sub-categories. The first category, that is being different due to missing teeth, refers to when a person experiences being different because of the anterior spacing The second category, that is being different due to fixed appliance, refers to when the appliance itself makes a person different. The two first categories exemplify being different in terms of appearance. The third identified category, that is being different due to treatment appointments, refers to the need to spend time differently because of having appointments at the clinic for treatment., Conclusion: Patients MMLIs consider their treatment to start at the time of diagnosis. They experience feelings of being different irrespective of whether the type of treatment is orthodontic SC or IR. The experience of being different differs in timing and causes depending on the treatment method.

Introduction: The most common treatment approaches for patients missing maxillary lateral incisors are implant replacement (IT) and orthodontic space closure (SC). Treatment techniques change and improve over time, and it is of interest to know if improvements differ between the methods., Aim: To compare the aesthetic outcome and other clinical findings in patients with one or two missing maxillary lateral incisors who were treated with a 10-year difference in time, with either orthodontic space closure or implant replacement., Material and Methods: A total of 88 patients were included in the study. Forty-four patients treated between 2011 and 2018 were included as the latter cohort (LC). The LC was compared to the early cohort (EC; n = 44), treated between 2001 and 2008. A total of 132 teeth was analysed: 62 teeth in the EC (28 teeth in IT cases and 34 teeth in SC cases) and 70 teeth in the LC (34 teeth in IT cases and 36 teeth in SC cases). Long-term clinical and aesthetic outcomes were evaluated., Results: An improvement over time was found in crown length, BoP, papilla, the inclination of incisors, and overall appearance in IT cases and in crown colour and overbite in SC cases. A deterioration over time was found in crown length and BoP among the SC cases., Conclusion: Among the IT cases, an improvement in outcomes was noted over time. When comparing SC cases the colour of the crown and overbite had improved, while crown length and BoP had deteriorated over time., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Orthodontic Society.)

Objective: Few studies within orthodontics present both economic and clinical findings. Missing maxillary lateral incisors is a frequently occurring anomaly. The treatment alternatives most used are orthodontic space closure and prosthetic replacement of the missing tooth. Our aim is to compare the total societal costs of orthodontic space closure (SC) and implant therapy (IT) in patients missing maxillary lateral incisors., Methods: Records of 32 patients treated with SC (n = 18) or IT (n = 14) due to missing maxillary lateral incisors were retrieved from the archives. Direct costs and indirect costs in the short- and long-term were analysed using a cost analysis with a societal perspective up of to 12 years post-treatment., Results: Comparing cases treated with SC and IT, the difference in direct short-term costs for treatment is €735.54, whereas SC is the least costly. There is no difference between SC and IT in short-term parent loss of productivity, long-term loss of productivity, costs for transportation, or direct long-term costs. A difference was found between SC and IT-in favour of SC-when comparing patients' loss of productivity (P = 0.007), short-term societal costs (P < 0.001), long-term societal costs (P = 0.037), and total societal costs (P < 0.001)., Limitations: There is a limited number of patient records. Local factors such as subsidies, urban versus rural areas, taxes, etc. can influence monetary variables, so the transferability to other settings may be limited., Conclusion: Patients treated with SC have a lower total societal cost compared to patients treated with IT. There was a difference in productivity loss for patients between SC and IT; however, concerning other indirect parameters and direct long-term costs, there was no difference between the two treatments., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Orthodontic Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objective: To investigate laypeople and dental professionals' opinions of the aesthetic outcome from implant therapy (IT) and orthodontic space closure (SC) for missing maxillary lateral incisors., Material and Methods: Evaluation was performed by three groups: laypeople 20-30 years of age (n = 26), laypeople 50-70 years of age (n = 26) and orthodontists (n = 25). The assessors viewed photographs of 44 different cases treated with IT or SC, and made an evaluation of the aesthetics., Results: The gingival color adjacent to the replaced tooth was rated as having better aesthetics in the SC cases (p = 0.000). The orthodontists preferred the aesthetics of the dentition in the SC cases (p = 0.042). The young laypeople, compared to the older laypeople and orthodontists, were more dissatisfied with the color of the tooth replacing the missing lateral incisor in SC cases (p = 0.043)., Conclusion: The color of the gingiva adjacent to the implant-supported crowns had a lower aesthetic rating than the SC group. Laypeople rated both treatments as equally good. The orthodontists had a slight preference for the aesthetics in the SC cases., (© 2021 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Dental Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)