Hide and seek: Impacted maxillary and mandibular canines from the Roman period Croatia

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this paper was to analyse the dental remains of an adult male with three impacted canines from the Roman period cemetery in Osijek, Croatia.

MATERIALS

The dental remains of an adult male aged 35-45 years at the time of death were analysed.

METHODS

Macroscopic analysis of dental remains was accompanied by radiographic examination.

RESULTS

The individual also had additional dental pathologies (carious lesion, antemortem tooth loss). A total of 21 permanent teeth were present in maxillae and mandible. Eighteen of them were normal fully erupted dentition, while three were impacted: left maxillary canine and both mandibular canines. The left maxillary and mandibular canines were mesially inclined, and the right mandibular canine was relatively horizontally positioned.

CONCLUSION

A case of non-syndrome impaction in which the lack of eruptive force in combination with the unfavorable position of the tooth bud might have resulted in multiple impacted teeth is presented.

SIGNIFICANCE

Current clinical knowledge reports low frequency of this anomaly, with maxillary impaction occurring more often than mandibular. Furthermore, canine impaction is even more rarely reported in the archaeological material. The presented case is the only one from the archaeological setting with impaction present both in maxillae and mandible.

LIMITATIONS

In modern populations multiple impactions are often associated with various syndromes. Since the majority of syndromes affect soft tissue, their association with impaction cannot be confirmed in archaeological populations.

Inverted and horizontal impacted third molars in an Early Modern skull from Wroclaw, Poland: a case report

BACKGROUND

An impacted tooth is one of the most commonly occurring dental anomalies, although some types of impaction (i.e. inverted angulation) may be considered rare finding. There are many hypotheses regarding impaction aetiology. One of the most popular hypotheses suggested that this condition may result from insufficient space in retromolar space, other: improper angulation of tooth bud, malposition of the tooth germ or hereditary factors, insufficient interproximal attrition, ectopy or dysfunction of genes necessary for proper tooth eruption. This study aims to present the odontological and paleopathological assessment of the impacted molars observed within the skull excavated from an early modern cemetery in Wroclaw.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The skull used in the study was complete and in a good state of preservation. It belonged to an adult individual whose body was buried at the former Salvator Cemetery (currently Czysty Square). The individual's dentition was almost completely lost antemortem. Only second molars preserved within the maxillae (bilaterally) and the mandible was almost edentulous as well. The morphometric traits have been taken according to standards established by R. Martin. Macroscopic observations were supported by X-rays and computed tomography imaging.

RESULTS

The age at death was estimated at 20-35 years. Comparison of the metric characteristics of skull with the reference material reveals that it is much smaller than the average female skull from this series. Morphometric indices calculated for both splanchocranium and neurocranium allow defining the skull and jaw as short, which could be an important factor involved in the teeth impaction.

CONCLUSIONS

Atypical impaction of the third molars could result from small size of skull and could have significantly deteriorated the quality of life of the individual.

[Historical development of surgical wisdom tooth extraction]

Surgical removal of the wisdom teeth is a routine procedure nowadays. Only at the end of the nineteenth century the use of local anesthesia together with the development of radiology led to the establishment of surgical dentistry. Especially the technique of removal of the lower third molar was totally changed and modified many times, depending on the position of the wisdom teeth. First hand instruments were used; later, mechanical devices for bone resection and tooth splitting were employed. Since the 1950s, highly dangerous infections have become rare, thanks to the use of antibiotics. Many publications concerning incision procedure, bone resection and tooth splitting marked the following years.

Brief communication: possible third molar impactions in the hominid fossil record

Impacted third molars affect 15%-20% of modern Americans and Western Europeans. In contrast, third molar impactions have not been reported in the early hominid fossil record. It is uncertain whether the lack of reports reflects an absence of impactions or a failure to recognize them. This communication is intended to raise awareness of the possibility of impactions by describing the appearance of impacted teeth and by noting two possible instances of impaction in early hominids. Specifically, the mandibular third molars of the Sterkfontein specimen, STS52b (Australopithecus africanus), and the left maxillary third molar of the Lake Turkana specimen, KNM-WT 17400 (Australopithecus boisei), are positioned in a manner which suggests that they would not have erupted normally. Both specimens also exhibit strong crowding of the anterior dentition, providing further support for the view that these individuals lacked sufficient space for normal eruption of the third molars. Other published reports of dental crowding in the hominid fossil record are noted, and it is suggested that more attention be paid to dental impaction and dental crowding in hominid evolution.

Impaction of maxillary canines and congenitally missing third molars. Description of an ancient skull (7250-6700 BC)

This report describes an ancient skull, in which both maxillary canines were impacted and mandibular third molars were missing. During the excavations at the early village site of Cayönü (Turkey), the subject of this report was found inside a skull building (charnel house) together with the fragments of 75 skulls, and was the least damaged skull of the Cayönü series (Ozbek, 1988). The skull showed skeletal and dental Class I relationship, with an orthognathic profile and a reduced bimaxillary alveolar prognathism. Assessment on the skull confirms the findings of the previous studies and reports that irregularities in the position of the teeth are already found in prehistoric man, and therefore, do not seem to be the result of modified conditions of modern civilization only.

Impacted canine in a prehistoric skull

Impacted teeth are frequently found in humans today, but current data suggest their existance in skulls originating from the prehistoric age. This report describes the skull of an adult female that was found during excavation in the Croation enolithic site of Vucedol (2700-24--BC). The skull is well preserved and, according to cranial and facial index calculation, is classified as dolichocephalic and mesoprospic. Cephalometric analysis revealed bimaxillary prognathism. The maxillary left canine is impacted and its crown peak is visible through the alveolar maxillary bone fenestration. The position of the canine was verified using x-rays, and is described in this study as an isolated finding. The reported occurrence of impacted teeth in prehistoric material appears to confirm the multifactorial etiology of this anomaly.