Incisal-Third Tunnel Splint (ITTS) Technique for Interim Stabilization of Mobile Anterior Teeth: A Two-Case Report

Full-mouth extraction and replacement are usually staged, and the sequence may leave mobile anterior teeth in service for months before their planned removal-an interval calling for stabilization that is quick, well-tolerated, and appropriate for teeth shortly to be extracted. Two such intervals were managed with an incisal-third tunnel splint (ITTS): a shallow tunnel cut within the incisal third of the mandibular anterior teeth, receiving a passive stainless-steel wire enclosed with composite resin. Siting it there rather than lingually places the restoration away from the gingival third and interdental region. Intracoronal splinting is not new; descriptions from the 1970s to the early 1990s concerned teeth intended for retention, where loss of tooth structure told against it. In Case 1, a 75-year-old man had fractured, mobile maxillary prostheses on carious abutments and a partially edentulous mandible with advanced bone loss and Grade II-III mobility of the anterior teeth. Staged rehabilitation was planned, beginning with the maxilla, the form of replacement left open; the ITTS was placed on the mandibular anterior teeth to carry them through that interval. At 5.5 months, the maxillary phase had not begun, and the splint remained in service. In Case 2, a 64-year-old woman underwent posterior-to-anterior mandibular implant rehabilitation; the splint served approximately 1 year and was removed at anterior implant placement as planned. Both remained intact and bonded, with no discomfort, phonetic disturbance, or hygiene difficulty reported. No mobility index, periodontal charting, or vitality testing was performed, and no comparative data are presented. The technique was observationally feasible and well-tolerated; generalizable utility cannot be inferred from two uncontrolled cases, and it is offered as one splinting option for this interval rather than a preferred method.