Temporary Anchorage Devices for Ridge Preservation

Alveolar bone is a bony portion surrounding the root of a tooth. The alveolar bone disappears gradually when the tooth is extracted. This bone loss often becomes a problem if a patient wants to close the missing tooth space with orthodontic treatments (braces), or to get a dental implant (a metal post replacing a tooth). Therefore, we would like to place small screws at the extraction sites to preserve the alveolar bone when the teeth need to be extracted and a patient cannot start treatments some time. Mini-screws (small metal screws) are routinely used for regular orthodontic treatment. We will recruit patients who require extractions of two upper small molars (maxillary premolars) on both right and left sides. We will place one mini-screw on one side while the other side will be untouched after teeth extractions. Both sides will be followed at 4 months and 8 months for examinations.