Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2025
Author Spotlight: 3D Movement Assessment of Maxillary Posterior Teeth in Clear Aligner Treatment
Published on: February 23, 2024
Comparison of root apex's position between unilateral and bilateral palatally impacted canines: A pilot study
Sewoong Oh1, Yong-Il Kim1, Seong-Sik Kim1
1Department of Orthodontics, Dental Research Institute, and Dental and Life Science Institute, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan, South Korea.
Introduction:
The purpose was to determine whether the location of the root apices of unilateral palatally impacted canines differs from that of bilateral palatally impacted canines using cone-beam computed tomography.
Methods:
The subjects were divided into 3 groups: a bilateral palatally impacted canine group (BPG; n = 28), a unilateral palatally impacted canine group (UPG; n = 28), and a control group (CG; n = 28) that included contralateral normally erupted canines in the UPG. After selecting the root apex in the onDemand3D program, 3-dimensional coordinates were extracted. These 3-dimensional coordinates were converted using the MATLAB program to 2-dimensional coordinates via projection on the palatal plane. Procrustes analysis was used to superimpose these 2-dimensional coordinates. The x- and y-coordinates of the root apices were used to measure the distance between the origin and root apex.
Results:
The distance between the root apex of the canine and the origin was 17.43 ± 1.78 mm in BPG, 17.96 ± 1.87 mm in UPG, and 13.96 ± 0.95 mm in CG. There was no statistically significant difference between UPG and BPG. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the CG and impacted groups (UPG and BPG). The same results were found for the x- and y-coordinates.
Conclusions:
The location of the root apices of unilateral palatally impacted canines is similar to that of bilateral palatally impacted. The location of root apices of palatally impacted canines differs from that of normally erupted canines.
