Mini-implants vs osseointegrated implants as skeletal orthodontic anchorage

AIM: The aim of this study was to show the benefits, possibilities and limits of mini-implants to obtain a rigid skeletal anchorage for tooth movements. MATERIALS: The study utilized 51 patients. Were inserted 35 mini-implants and 37 fixtures to control anchorage. In some adult patients, orthodontic anchorage may be more difficult to achieve because of missing teeth and wide edentulous spaces. In these situations, the implants may be used initially as skeletal anchorage to facilitate tooth movement, and secondarily as abutments for fixed prostheses. RESULTS: Using the fixtures as skeletal anchorage, there are some problems because of severity of surgery, the discomfort of initial healing, a longer period of treatment time and they could only be inserted in retromolar, tuber and edentulous areas, evidencing limitations for the direction of force application. The use of mini-implants as anchorage produces a satisfactory result in a short period of time with two minimal surgical procedures, and enables to insert an appliance in any aimed position and carries out easily the tooth movements. This is very important for preventing dental, periodontal, esthetical and psychological problems during orthodontic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Tooth movement that is difficult or impossible by conventional tooth-borne and osseointegrated fixture anchorage, is possible by mini-implants.