American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
Original articleAnalysis of failure in the treatment of impacted maxillary canines
Section snippets
Material and methods
A sample of 28 patients (18 female, 10 male; ages, 17.4 ± 4.3 years) with 37 impacted canines was assembled from the private practices of the 3 authors. The patients' initial records showed that 26 impactions were palatal, 9 were buccal, and 2 were in the midalveolus. All patients had been treated elsewhere for a malocclusion that included at least 1 impacted maxillary canine that did not respond to treatment. They were referred by general practitioners or orthodontists and were taken
Results
The patients were referred by 26 clinicians. Twenty were specialists, including 15 who had over 10 years of experience, and 6 were general practitioners, including 3 with more than 10 years of experience. Most patients (26 of 28; 92.9%) were referred after surgery had been performed. In 2 (patients 11 and 22), space had been prepared for the impacted teeth without surgery. It had been optimistically expected that the teeth would erupt spontaneously, but that had not occurred. Twenty-five
Discussion
The prevalence of canine impaction in the general population of most Western countries has been variously described as between 0.92% and 2.4%.10, 11, 12, 13, 14 Since this problem is a local etiologic factor leading to malalignment and malocclusion of the teeth, it must be assumed that in any orthodontic practice there will be a disproportionately larger number of patients who suffer from this anomaly. Many will be treated successfully, but, as can be seen in this study, some clinicians will
Conclusions
There are many aspects and minutiae involved in the treatment of impacted maxillary canines that, singly or together, can lead to failure of the overall aim of the exercise. This study has shown that failure in this type of treatment is all too frequent for the following reasons.
- 1.
Diagnosis of the location of the tooth and its immediate relationship with the roots of the adjacent teeth is generally treated with cavalier and often negligent simplicity, even though modern technology has provided
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2022, Journal of Stomatology, Oral and Maxillofacial SurgeryCitation Excerpt :However, there are no studies reporting the outcome of this treatment strategy. When this fails, removal of the impacted canine is often the treatment of choice [6, 31]. Aside from the patient-related factors mentioned above, orthodontist or surgeon related factors can equally influence treatment prognosis.
The authors report no commercial, proprietary, or financial interest in the products or companies described in this article.