ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of the incidence and sequelae, as well as the surgical, periodontal, and orthodontic considerations in the management of impacted canines. However, it was not expressed as a clearly focused question and the population included was not been explicitly specified. The incidence of maxillary canine impaction was found to be between 0.92% and 1.7% and was twice as common in females compared to males. Eighty-three percent of labially impacted canines were associated with an arch length deficiency; these may erupt spontaneously, whereas palatally impacted canines seldom erupted without intervention. Causes of retarded eruption of teeth were described as generalised and localised, with no clear explanation in most cases for the failure of eruption of the canine, although this was associated with abnormalities in the formation and eruption of the lateral incisor. It is difficult to assess whether authors included all relevant studies due to lack of information regarding their inclusion and exclusion criteria and search techniques.
