Transmigration of mandibular second premolar in a patient with cleft lip and palate--case report

Disturbances involving abnormalities in tooth eruption are named ectopia. Transmigration is the name assigned to ectopia in the presence of teeth in areas distant from the alveolar process. Initial angulation of the tooth bud of the second premolar and premature loss of permanent mandibular 1st molars can influence the distal migration of the second premolar. Some studies have observed that ectopic teeth can be found in a variety of places around the oral cavity and also in other areas of the human body. There are records of teeth in the maxillary sinus, mandibular condyle, coronoid process, mandibular angle, orbit, palate, mentum and also the skin. The prevalence of tooth abnormalities is higher in children with cleft lip and palate compared to children without clefts. This paper presents a case report of migration of the mandibular left second premolar in a patient attending the Hospital for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies of the University of São Paulo (HRAC/USP), Brazil. Migration of the mandibular left 2nd premolar was confirmed by 8 panoramic and 1 periapical radiographs obtained during patient's treatment between 1978 and 2002, which were available in the files of the Department of Dental Radiology of HRAC/USP. It can be assumed that distal migration of the mandibular left 2nd premolar is not associated with presence of cleft lip and palate; observation of these two events in a same patient is rare, since no similar reported cases were found in the literature.