Complications in the course of surgical-orthodontic treatment of impacted maxillary canines.

PURPOSE The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of gender and age of patients with impacted permanent maxillary canines on complications in the course of tooth transposition. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study material included files of 82 patients with a diagnosis of unilateral or bilateral impaction of 102 permanent maxillary canines. The study group consisted of 65 female and 17 male subjects, aged 8.5-39 years (mean 14.5 years) divided into four age groups: group I--patients under 12, group II--12.0-13.9 years, group III--14.0-15.9 years and group IV--patients at the age of 16 and older. RESULTS In the study population, the impacted teeth showed the following locations: palatal (67.64%), vestibular (19.60%) and alveolar (12.74%). Spontaneous resorption caused by abnormal tooth position was observed in 5 (4.9%) permanent maxillary lateral incisors. In 4 cases, the resorption was bilateral and all the five cases were recorded in group III. In group IV, one patient had alveolar process atrophy and severe resorption, while another one showed ankylosis of a permanent canine. Extraction of palatally impacted canines was done in 3.92% of cases. Complications were noted in girls and referred to 5.58% of the study cases. CONCLUSIONS Orthodontic movement of the impacted teeth to the dental arch may result in complications. However, because of the major significance of the upper canine which is responsible for the behaviour of the frontal triad, surgical-orthodontic treatment should be undertaken to improve occlusion and the aesthetic look of patients. Thus, any case of the ectopic canine requires observation and proper choice of radiological diagnostics.