Combined surgical luxation and orthodontic traction treatment of a severely infraoccluded primary molar with deep caries: a case report and literature review

Authors

  • W Jiang Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center for Oral Biomaterials and Devices
  • M Wang Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center for Oral Biomaterials and Devices
  • M Shen Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center for Oral Biomaterials and Devices
  • J Han Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center for Oral Biomaterials and Devices
  • L Xu Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center for Oral Biomaterials and Devices
  • Z Wu Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center for Oral Biomaterials and Devices

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23804/ejpd.2025.2235

Keywords:

Infraocclusion, Surgical luxation, Primary molar, Orthodontic traction, Deep caries

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Infraocclusion refers to a tooth located below the occlusal surface compared to adjacent teeth long after it should have reached occlusion. Ankylosis is frequently associated with the infraocclusion of primary molars, but it is challenging to distinguish between the two conditions. Surgical luxation and orthodontic traction have been applied for the treatment of ankylosed, infraoccluded permanent teeth, but reports on primary molars are scarce. CASE REPORT: A 5-year-old boy presented with a severely infraoccluded primary mandibular second molar with deep caries. A partial pulpotomy was performed to treat the affected tooth when the pulp was exposed after caries removal. A combination of surgical luxation and orthodontic tractionwas performed for the affected tooth, and after 5 months, the tooth successfully erupted to the occlusal level. During the follow-up period of two years, no complications were observed. CONCLUSION: This report identified that surgical luxation, in conjunction with orthodontic traction, is effective and feasible for severely infraoccluded primary teeth. Additionally, partial pulpotomy may be an alternative for vital pulp therapy on primary teeth.