Completely impacted teeth in dentate and edentulous jaws

Panoramic radiographs from 1026 patients were examined for the presence of completely impacted teeth. The prevalence of completely impacted teeth in the edentulous jaw was lower than that in the dentate jaw in both the upper and lower jaws. The prevalence of completely impacted third molars in the edentulous jaw was also lower than that in the dentate jaw. However, there was no difference in the prevalence of completely impacted canine teeth and completely impacted anterior maxillary supernumerary teeth (mesiodens) in the edentulous jaw. These findings may indicate that completely impacted canine teeth and impacted anterior maxillary supernumerary teeth (mesiodens) are not influenced by the loss of erupted teeth.