ABSTRACT
An impacted tooth is a tooth that cannot erupt normally when its eruption is blocked or it is erupted in the wrong direction and posi-tion. The most commonly impacted teeth is the third molar, while in the anterior region, the most common is the maxillary canine, followed by the maxillary central incisor and the maxillary lateral incisor. In recent years, the treatment of impacted maxillary incisors often uses open and closed eruption techniques with traction. Although most of the prognosis is good, traction difficulties, root resorption and alveolar bone loss are often encountered in the case of root dilacerations. This article reviews the progresses in the treatment of impacted maxillary incisors.
ABSTRACT
Impaction with a severely dilacerated root is seldom reported, especially in the maxillary incisor. It is probably because of the high clinical difficulty associated with bringing the dilacerated tooth into proper position, and the high chance of failure due to ankylosis, external root resorption, and root exposure after orthodontic traction. Even the successful cases may need periodontal surgery to improve the unesthetic gingival shape. However, it has previously been reported that an impacted maxillary central incisor was successfully treated by proper crown exposure and orthodontic traction. This article presents a case of an invertedly impacted maxillary right central incisor with a developing dilacerated root, which was aligned into proper position after orthodontic traction composed of two stages of a closed eruption technique.