Impacted teeth are those with a delayed eruption time or that are not expected to erupt completely according to the clinical and radiographic findings. Impacted teeth can cause a series of potential problems such as root displacement and resorption, periodontal problems in adjacent teeth, referred pain, and formation of cysts and odontogenic tumors. In the anterior region, there is the additional concern of altered esthetics. So, early diagnosis and appropriate intervention is required. The Purpose of this study is to investigate characteristics and treatment of child and adolescent patients who visited in Chusun Univerysity Dental Hospital and were diagnosed as a impacted tooth under 15 years old.
Impacted tooth, etiology, treatment, traction period were surveyed through electric medical records, panoramic radiographs and periapical radiographs from 335 patients excluding a impacted third molar, supernumerary and deciduous tooth.
The frequency of impacted tooth are the following orders : upper canine, upper incisor, lower premolar, upper premolar, lower canine. The most common etiologies of impaction are abnormal eruption pathway(38.04%) and Localized pathologic lesions(35.01%). The treatment of impacted tooth has mostly orthodontic traction(46.10%). Traction period was relatively short in cases having distinct obstacles such as localized pathologic lesions, in cases of upper incisor than upper canine, and as the patients were younger. In this study, the success rate of orthodontic traction was 96.7%, and 5 cases were failed. The causes of 3 failed cases were poor treatment compliance and the other 2 cases were caused by tooth ankylosis.
It is considered that orthodontic traction of impacted tooth is more unfavorable at older ages. Therefore, early diagnosis and precise treatment plan through regular check up are mandatory. Besides the treatment compliance of patients in child and adolescent patients are particularly important.