Prosthodontics & Occlusion · single question
A patient lost both mandibular first molars; on the left, tooth #31 has drifted mesially. What explains the difference between the two sides?
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Correct answer: D. Tipping of #31 into the edentulous space
- A. An ankylosed tooth would not have moved at all.
- B. Bodily movement requires controlled orthodontic force; physiologic drift is a tipping movement.
- C. Vertical eruption occurs when an opposing tooth is lost, not an adjacent one.
- D. Correct. Unopposed drift is tipping — the crown moves mesially while the root apex stays relatively in place, producing a mesial vertical bony defect and a pseudopocket that complicates future restoration.
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