Impacted Canine

The fundamental aspect in the diagnosis of and treatment planning for an impacted maxillary permanent canine is the ability to recognize and predict its subsequent failure of eruption. Early diagnosis of canine displacement, in relation to the surrounding structures, is based primarily on a radio graphic examination. Nowadays CT scanning units are relatively few and imaging is expensive, their use is increasing. and they are now more freely available to the orthodontist in practice. It may still be difficult to justify using the method on a routine basis for the occasional and more straightforward case with one or two impacted teeth. However, its use in cases of multiple impactions, particularly cleidocranial dysplasia, has much to offer in the accurate placing of the very large number of impacted teeth, both at the treatment planning stage and the subsequent surgical phases.