SUPERNUMERARY TEETH IN MANDIBULAR INCISOR REGION

Pediatric dentists often meet children with abnormal in number of tooth. Presence of supernumerary teeth is frequent cause of malocclusion. Etiology for supernumerary teeth is not yet clearly defined, but it is thought to be caused by excessive proliferation of dental lamina by hereditary and environmental factors. Supernumerary teeth occur in the maxilla nine times more frequently than in the mandible. Most common supernumerary tooth is the mesiodens in the maxilla, and some are observed in the maxillary molar and mandibular premolar. It occurs rarely in the mandibular incisor region with the incidence of 1-2% among all supernumerary teeth. A six-year old boy visited the department of the pediatric dentistry, Yonsei University Dental Hospital, with the chief complaint of crowded supernumerary teeth on the mandibular incisor region. Clinical and radiographic examinations revealed six permanent mandibular incisors similar in size, shape, and length. Further investigation using computed tomography(CT) was proceeded on the mandible to measure and compare morphologic features and positions of the six incisors. Then, we decided to remove two incisors which were already erupted. Periodic check-up was followed to monitor the dental development and spontaneous positional enhancement of the remaining four incisors in the mandible.