Impacted teeth in relation to odontomas

A retrospective investigation on the eruption of impacted teeth after surgical treatment of odontoma has been carried out. A total of 218 operative removals of odontomas took place in the Department of Oral Surgery, Royal Dental College in the years 1952-1974; 49 of these were localized directly in relation to an impacted tooth and were considered as the cause of impaction. In 42 cases there was sufficient material for the follow-up investigation. The morphology of the impacted tooth was normal in 62% (26/42); when deviation occurred, only the root was involved (11/13). After removal of the odontomas, 45% (19/42) of the impacted teeth erupted, 77% (13/17) of the remaining teeth erupted after a second operation. The results of this investigation suggest that three out of four impacted teeth related to odontomas will erupt after removal of the odontoma.