Early Eruption of Immature Premolars: An Incident After Premature Loss of Primary Molars

Abstract

The premature loss of primary molars causes negative impacts on children's health, well-being, functionality, and quality of life, with diverse oral consequences. In this respect, the early eruption of premolars is an incident that requires detailed care and monitoring due to the poor root development, increased mobility and enamel defects, among other complications in the mixed dentition. This report describes a 5-year-old female, systemically healthy who presented four primary molars with extensive destruction and poor prognosis. After completing the first phase of dental care that included the extraction of those primary molars, early eruption of three premolars was noted, which presented mobility, malposition and likely enamel defects. For the second phase of dental care, removable space maintainers were designed and placed to function as splints to stabilize the premolars. The main clinical message of this case report is that timely planning and follow-up are required for the situations of premature loss of primary molars that lead to the early eruption of premolars, considering the biological and physiological mechanisms of dental eruption, as well as the different treatment approaches.