2021 Volume 59 Issue 3 Pages 125-130
Impaction of primary teeth is much rarer than that of permanent teeth. Most cases of primary tooth impaction are observed in the primary second molar ; impaction of the lower primary first molar is rare. This report describes the treatment of a 4-year-old boy with delayed eruption of the mandibular primary first molar and malposition of the first premolar tooth germ due to the presence of an odontoma.
Treatment consisted of surgical removal of the odontoma and traction of the buried primary first molar. Two years after the treatment, the primary first molar reached the occlusal plane, and the first premolar tooth germ recovered its normal position. At age 9 years and 11 months, the first premolar erupted in a normal position, and at age 11 years and 10 months, the tooth almost reached the occlusal plane.
Although the frequency of impaction of primary teeth is very low, early treatment of impacted primary teeth is effective for the development of successor teeth. The present case shows that continued periodic examination after removal of odontoma is important for the development of normal permanent dentition.
