Matt came to Dr. Engelberg from Arlington Heights, Illinois with a major problem—he was hit with a hockey stick across the face which fractured three of his front teeth. Dr. Engelberg came in on an emergency basis to initiate treatment on two of the severely fractured front teeth, and devised a treatment plan to save the badly fractured lateral incisor (the tooth in the photo that was fractured at the gumline). The treatment was to use orthodontic extrusion to erupt this lateral incisor, and then restore the front teeth with porcelain veneers. This all had to be completed prior to Matt’s first year in college! Although there was anxiety due to the time, Dr. Engelberg and his orthodontist colleague were able to extrude the tooth, perform minor gum surgery, and restore the front teeth with porcelain veneers and crowns in time for Matt’s freshman year in college. It should be noted that while extracting the tooth and placing an implant was a possibility, it was a much more conservative option for Matt to keep his tooth. In addition, given Matt’s age at the time, implants are usually done 1-4 years later, meaning that Matt would have needed a temporary tooth replacement for college. This case is a great example of conservative dentistry that can have a major social impact on a patient—but take Matt’s word for it in this video!
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