Clinical and radiological features of malformed mesiodens in the nasopalatine canal: an observational study.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to investigate the morphological changes that occur when mesiodens is located within the nasopalatine canal, as well as clinical characteristics.

METHODS: Clinical records and computed tomography (CT) images of patients who had mesiodens in the nasopalatine canal were retrospectively analyzed. In addition to demographic information, clinical symptoms and complications associated with extraction of mesiodens were recorded. Using CT images, number, location, size, and tooth morphology were evaluated.

RESULTS: This study included 32 patients and 38 mesiodens within the nasopalatine canal. Supernumerary teeth exhibited a characteristic feature of thin and elongated shape in the canal (narrow width and elongation were observed in 96.6% and 53.3% of the patients, respectively). Fusion was found in 4 patients and dilaceration in 12. A complication occurred in two patients, which was tooth remnant, not a neurologic complication. Only five mesiodens could be detected in the nasopalatine canal on panoramic images.

CONCLUSIONS: Morphological abnormalities in mesiodens within the nasopalatine canal were frequently detected, and these could be effectively diagnosed through three-dimensional imaging analysis.