Orthodontic treatment for a patient with hypodontia involving the maxillary lateral incisors

Developmental absence of maxillary lateral incisors is not uncommon in orthodontic patients. Treatment depends on a number of factors, including skeletal pattern, type of malocclusion, overjet, and the shape and color of the canines. Management can be broadly divided into space closure, space opening or redistribution, and prosthetic replacement. The purpose of this article was to report the treatment of a girl with an Angle Class I malocclusion with missing maxillary lateral incisors and severe crowding in the mandibular labial segment. Treatment included preadjusted fixed appliances, extraction of the mandibular first premolars, and space closure of the maxillary labial segment space with the canines substituted for the maxillary lateral incisors.