title: Late reposition of a lateral luxated maxillary incisor with an immature apex.
abstract: Here we describe an unusual trauma case. A recently erupted permanent upper-right incisor sustained a lateral luxation when a 5-year-old girl on a playground climbing net dropped off, catching the right upper incisor in the net. The tooth was laterally luxated in vestibular direction, and no other signs of injury occurred. A dental practitioner could not reposition the bony locked tooth. Four days later, the girl came to our clinic, and we performed an incomplete repositioning of the tooth and made a flexible splint. Controls were made at 1, 6, and 12 weeks and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months later. The 24-month follow-up clinical examination revealed the patient to be asymptomatic and the tooth to be completely functional, and the recall radiograph showed further apical root growth. The implications of a late incomplete reposition of laterally luxated permanent teeth with immature apices are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Dental Clinic 1, Operative Dentistry and Periodontology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany. pelka@dent.uni-erlangen.de
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pelka
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Berthold
authors.forename: Hubertus
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van Waes
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor / Q000293:injuries; D008437:Maxilla; D013997:Time Factors; D019227:Tooth Apex / Q000254:growth & development*; D014084:Tooth Avulsion / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D014090:Tooth Replantation / Q000379:methods*