Odontoma associated with impacted mandibular canine: surgically guided eruption

ABSTRACT Odontoma is the most common type of odontogenic tumor and is most often diagnosed in the second decade of life. This benign tumor has a slow growth and is asymptomatic, which favors its persistence in the bone until some clinical sign emerges or the tumor or be detected in a routine radiograph. The aim of this case report was to present a clinic case of a 13-year-old male, who presented delayed exfoliation of the mandibular right primary canine. The radiographic exam revealed a radiopaque image in the anterior region of the mandible produced by structures that resembled the formation of teeth surrounded by a radiolucent area. Adjacent to the tumor, the impacted mandibular right canine was identified with deviation of its eruption axis. The clinical diagnosis was compound odontoma. Treatment consisted of the removal of the tumor and the surgically-assisted eruption of the tooth without orthodontic traction. After three years of follow up, the patient has exhibited positive results. It is possible to surgically assist the eruption of an impacted tooth, with a deviated axis, associated with an odontoma through the removal of the tumor and of the physical barrier (ostectomy) without orthodontic traction.