[Combined surgical-orthodontic therapy for compound odontoma]

Odontogenic tumor is a rare condition in dental medicine that mostly proceeds unrecognized until the occurrence of clinical symptoms such as delayed eruption, or is incidentally detected on routine x-ray examination. The exact cause is not known, however, previous dental trauma and infection have been postulated as the potential factors in the development of odontogenic tumor. The earliest possible operative extirpation of the tumorous growth is recommended to eliminate permanent tooth impaction and to enable normal growth of the teeth. In some cases, corticotomy, including complete removal of the bony coat of the tooth, may be needed to additionally facilitate and precipitate its eruption. Orthodontic therapy is also of great importance in correct alignment of the teeth 'n the dental arch as well as in the management of other anomalies that may be associated with odontogenic tumor. A patient with compound odontoma is presented, along with the course of combined surgical-orthodontic therapy. The patient reported previous intrusion trauma that had occurred at the age of 4 years, which may have been the potential factor in the development of odontoma. In this case, there was a massive odontogenic tumor which had compromised the growth of permanent teeth, and the growth impulse was almost at the end since the patient was 11 years old and the apexes of the upper incisors were partially closed. The first operation included complete removal of the tumorous mass that had interrupted spontaneous eruption of the upper permanent incisors. It did not result in immediate spontaneous tooth eruption, so an additional operation was needed. The objective of the second operative procedure was complete removal of the covering bone over the unerupted upper permanent incisors in order to eliminate the physical barrier to tooth growth and eruption. The objective of fixed orthodontic therapy was full eruption of the partially erupted upper incisors. After 16 months, the upper incisors were regularly located in the dental arch. In this case, orthodontic therapy had another objective, i.e. to ensure rotation of the first upper premolar, to provide space for the upper permanent canine eruption and to establish regular intercuspidation after upper second premolar hypodontia. In colclusion, combined operative and orthodontic therapy can be recommended irrespective of the stage of the impacted tooth development because any treatment to precipitate tooth eruption has favorable effects. Impacted teeth should always be provided all treatment options for faster eruption, as demonstrated in our case where a good clinical result was achieved within 2.5 years. The role of regular clinical and x-ray controls for assessment of the impacted tooth eruption should also be emphasized.