Association Between Palatally Impacted Maxillary Canine and Anomalous Maxillary Lateral Incisor - A Case Control Study

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between palatally impacted maxillary canine (PIC) and anomalous upper lateral incisor. METHODOLOGY: This case control study was conducted on records of 60 participants (30 with PIC and 30 without). The inclusion criteria were participants without syndromes, palatal canine impaction (cases only), and age range from 12 to 30 year. Subjects with buccally impacted canine, history of previous orthodontic treatment and non-Pakistani nationals were excluded. Cases were those having PIC and controls were without PIC. Participant's OPG and periapical X-rays were used to diagnose PIC by horizontal parallax technique. Dental anomalies in upper lateral incisor were diagnosed by using casts and OPGs. Logistic regression and chi-square test was applied to determine association between PIC and anomalous upper lateral incisor. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 18.916±4.3 years. The frequency of missing lateral incisor was higher in cases (n=3, 10%) than control (n=1, 3.3%). Similarly peg shape laterals was more in cases (n=4, 13.3%) than controls (n=2, 6.7%). However this association was not statistically significant (P=0.37). The odd of having anomalies in lateral incisor was 2.73 times higher in cases than controls but the results were not statistically significant (P=0.177). CONCLUSION: Though the frequency of anomalous maxillary lateral incisors is higher in participants with PIC than controls but this association was not statistically significant. KEYWORDS: Palatal canine impaction, missing upper lateral incisors, peg shape upper lateral incisors, dental anomalies