Description
A 9-year-old boy reported to the outpatient department for a routine dental check-up. Familial, medical and dental histories were unremarkable. General and extra-oral examination showed no abnormality. Dental examination revealed the presence of six permanent maxillary incisor teeth (figure 1). Panoramic and occlusal radiographs showed the presence of six maxillary incisor teeth belonging to the permanent dentition (figures 2 and 3). The patient was referred to a general physician to rule out any syndrome associated with these supplemental teeth.
Figure 1.
Clinical photograph showing six maxillary permanent incisors.
Figure 2.
Panoramic radiograph showing supplemental incisors.
Figure 3.
Occlusal radiograph showing supplemental incisors.
On the basis of the dental findings and the absence of any associated disorder or syndrome, these teeth were differentiated as supplemental incisors.
Supernumerary teeth or hyperdontia are those that are additional to the normal complement of teeth. Supernumerary teeth can be classified according to their location in the dental arch: mesiodens, paramolar and distomolar or according to their morphological forms: conical, tuberculate, supplemental and odontome.1 2 Clinically, supernumerary teeth are able to cause different local disorders, including, retention of the primary tooth, delayed eruption of the permanent tooth, ectopic eruption, tooth displacement, follicular cysts and other alterations requiring surgical or orthodontic intervention.3
Learning points.
Supernumerary teeth are considered one of the most significant dental anomalies during the primary and early mixed dentition stages.
Supernumerary teeth may cause diastema, root resorption, malformations such as dilacerations and loss of vitality of adjacent teeth.
To avoid the complications of supernumerary teeth, extraction of these teeth is a general rule.
Footnotes
Competing interests: None.
Patient consent: Obtained.
Provenance and peer review: Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
References
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