Management of impacted maxillary canines using the kilroy spring: A case series

Kilroy Springs are cantilever spring auxiliaries that have been added to orthodontic armamentarium to provide forces to maxillary impacted teeth so as to direct their eruption downward and toward the dental arch. Dr. Bowman had designed and developed these orthodontic auxiliaries to assist in the correction of impacted maxillary canines, one of the most problematic dilemmas in our specialty. The key to dealing with impacted maxillary canines is to provide specific directional forces to insure that these teeth are moved down into the dental arch from the point where they are "stuck" in the jaw. These auxiliaries provide a versatile and predictable biomechanics for the correction of a very complex problem of canine impaction. This article describes three cases to highlight the efficacy of these springs