Partial Front Teeth Correction, Rabbit Teeth, Protruding Canine Correction?

Hello, this is Apgujeong Orthodontic Clinic.

Excluding the molars and simply aligning only the front teeth is called partial orthodontic treatment.

Fast orthodontics, short-term orthodontics, and front-teeth orthodontics all mean the same thing.

Front-teeth partial orthodontic treatment is usually planned with a maximum treatment period of 6 months.

However, in order to overcome the limitations of partial front-teeth correction and achieve better results, elastics are sometimes used, and in some cases the treatment period becomes a little longer.

Today’s story is about a front-teeth partial orthodontic treatment that took 9 months.

This patient visited in December 2023 hoping for front-teeth partial orthodontic treatment.

The two front teeth are large and positioned lower than the others.

A protruding premolar is also visible at the blue arrow.

The lower front teeth are quite crooked.

The molar bite was not in very good condition, but the patient did not feel any discomfort while chewing and only wanted the front teeth aligned.

After considering the treatment period, cost, and the patient’s situation in every respect, we gave up on some things and started partial front-teeth correction.

We decided to do full orthodontic treatment again later, when the patient had time and could afford it.

In partial orthodontic treatment, the space for aligning the front teeth is created with a small amount of interproximal reduction.

The patient chose an MTA appliance among the devices for front-teeth partial orthodontic treatment, and treatment began.

This is the condition 9 months after starting treatment.

A power chain elastic was used to close the small gaps between the front teeth,

and elastics that the patient could put on and take off by themself were attached between the hooks shown in the photo to align the midline and the left-right bite.

As a result, 9 months passed before we knew it.

The MTA appliance was attached only to the front teeth from canine to canine for alignment, and the other premolars and molars did not move.

In September 2024, treatment was finally completed.

24.09

24.09

Unfortunately, the protruding premolar at the blue arrow is the one flaw.

It is disappointing, but considering the cost, time, and effort the patient invested, partial front-teeth correction alone still produced good results, so we just have to accept it.

24.09

This is the condition with the retainer attached as well.

The total treatment period was 9 months.

Now, let’s compare before and after.

23.12~24.09

23.12~24.09

Using elastics also improved the canine bite relationship.

23.12~24.09

23.12~24.09

Neat front-teeth alignment and a wire retainer

Now let’s look at the facial changes.

23.12~24.09

The front teeth, which seemed unusually large compared with the surrounding teeth, no longer look large now that the height and alignment have been adjusted.

23.12~24.09

23.12~24.09

Because the front teeth were aligned with interproximal reduction, they were maintained without protruding compared with the beginning, and the originally attractive lip line was also well preserved.

24.09

Since this was partial orthodontic treatment, there was no root resorption, and root parallelism is also good.

I hope this post is helpful for those who are hesitant because they think orthodontic treatment will take a long time.