Impaction of the central maxillary incisor associated with supernumerary teeth: initial position and spontaneous eruption timing

The aim of the retrospective study was to evaluate the influence of the initial vertical position of the impacted maxillary incisor on spontaneous eruption frequency and timing after surgical removal of the supernumerary tooth. Records of 33 patients with unilateral impaction of upper central incisor caused by supernumerary teeth with the average age 9.58+/-1.54 years were analyzed. Impacted teeth were distributed into 3 groups on the basis on their initial vertical position on the orthopantomograms. The results indicate that impacted maxillary central incisors spontaneously erupt in 63.6% of cases after removal of supernumerary teeth. The average time of the spontaneous eruption of impacted maxillary central incisors was 16.05+/-9.3 months (from 3 to 30 months). Statistically significant differences in the spontaneous eruption time were found between the groups with different initial vertical position of the impacted central maxillary incisor. Maxillary central incisor impacted at the projection level of the apical third of the contralateral completely erupted central maxillary incisor should be treated by the surgical-orthodontic approach, because spontaneous eruption is unlikely to expect.