Micro/ Mini Screw Implants in Orthodontics

        We are proud to announce that we were the first use the following modality in our practice which has caught on in this part of the world

Orthodontic Treatment planning in past always revolved around one key factor of ‘Anchorage requirements’, specially when it came to dental movements. Many anchorage conservation methods were used over the years to achieve best of treatment goals. These modalities consisted of extra-oral and intra-oral enhancements. The extra oral methods suffered due to poor patient compliance and the intra oral methods thus far failed to produce the so called ‘Absolute or Maximum anchorage’ – the condition that will have very high ‘resistance to displacement’ due to anchor forces.

Since almost all reactive anchor forces have been dissipated on the multi-rooted molars, which are suspended by periodontal membrane. This resulted in forward movement of these molars, thus reducing the available extraction spaces for anterior corrections.

Emergence of Implant technology in Orthodontics for achieving ‘Absolute anchorage’ has proved encouraging in the recent past. Orthodontic implants made the initial impact in the form of Endosseous Implants and Onplants. They did achieve the absolute anchorage for orthodontic movements, but they had a number of disadvantages, like being bulky, complicated fixtures/sizes, waiting period after placements for osseo - integration before loading them, comprehensive clinical and lab-work, difficulty during their removal and the high cost.
Mini / Micro screws have been recently introduced as simpler alternatives to these endosseous implants. They are better due to their smaller size and greater number of sites for placement, varied indications, simpler surgical placements, easy to deliver forces from. No lab work, easier removal and low cost.

Today the paradigm has changed significantly new and ingenious methods made its mark in anchor management protocols. Micro implant Screws are inserted in the cortical bone to achieve immovable absolute anchorage, freeing molars of this burden. The advantages of this method being the fact that the screws do not need osseo - integration- so no waiting time, easier to insert with minimal surgery with just spray anesthesia and not even that during it’s removal. These Micro screws can easily withstand up to 500 gms of force, and thus enabling the complete usage of extraction spaces for treatment requirements, that too in much lesser time than the conventional methods

The treatment planning protocols does have to take into consideration the ease with which one could translate groups of teeth – either anterior or the posterior-in any required direction, with no reaction on the rest of teeth. This opens a window of opportunity for a plethora of options like - Reduced treatment time (as no concern for any mesial movement of molars), Reducing the surgical options in those border - line surgical cases, Use of third molar extraction spaces for distalizing buccal segments efficiently – so far considered as a futile exercise!