title: Management of congenitally missing second premolars in a growing child.
abstract: The second premolars have the highest incidence of congenital absence, after the third molars. The problem resides not in the prevalence of congenitally missing premolars but in the selection of a treatment plan that will yield the best results over the long term. The present study reports a case of a 14 year old female patient with bilaterally congenitally missing second mandibular premolars with associated crowding of teeth. The case has been managed using a multi-speciality approach, in which both deciduous mandibular second molars were sectioned and the distal half retained. The retained half was prepared to receive a full coverage restoration which was contoured as a premolar. The space created was then utilized to correct the crowding by fixed orthodontics. A two year follow up shows retained distal half of the deciduous mandibular second molar with correction of crowding and space closure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Subharti Dental College, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Padmanabh
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jha
authors.forename: Mesha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jha