Management of impacted maxillary canines: a case report

Canine impactions correspond to frequent findings in the general population. Maxillary canines are of great important for both aesthetic and functional aspects, since they provide support of the lip and facial muscles, act as important guideposts in occlusion, play a vital role as tissue support at the corner of the mouth and their position is in the turning point of the dental arch. A failure of canine eruption due to impaction will affect the occlusion and may even influence the psychological development of the affected people. At present, different guidelines for management of impacted maxillary canines can be encountered in the literature, but there is still no absolute consensus among scientists and clinicians on this subject matter. In this article, we report a case of orthodontically guided eruption of two impacted maxillary canines based on the experience of the Tamil Nadu Government Dental College and Hospital, Chennai, India.