Impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth: a survey of forty-two cases

The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the location of impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth that subsequently were removed from pediatric patients at Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian. The study population consisted of 42 children diagnosed with impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth. The impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth were surgically removed by one faculty member in the hospital operating room with the aid of general anesthesia between 1994 and 2000. The total number of impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth was 51. All were located palatally on either side of the midline and were surgically removed from a palatal access. In the absence of clear imaging evidence to the contrary, it is recommended that the preferred surgical approach for the removal of impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth should be the palatal approach. Relatedly, the term mesiodens is misleading and is generally inaccurate for describing impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth. Palatodens would be a more appropriate descriptive term.