Although impaction of deciduous teeth is much rarer than that of permanent teeth, there have been three cases of an impacted deciduous tooth at our clinic.
1) The age of the three patients (1 male, 2 females) at their first visit ranged from 3 years 8 months to 13 years 10 months. The impacted teeth were a 1st deciduous molar in one case, and a 2nd deciduous molar in the remaining two cases.
2) Histopathological examination of soft tissue over the impacted tooth revealed that the cause of impaction was hyperplasia of the collagen fiber at the submucosal layer in one case and pericoronal myxofibrous hyperplasia in another case.
3) The impacted tooth of the first patient was extracted together with the surrounding cystic lesion. The second patient, who was 3 years 8 months old at the first visit, underwent fenestration and traction of the impacted tooth after 2 years of observation. The third patient was over 13 years old and the presence of the subsequent permanent tooth was confirmed radiologically. Therefore, the impacted deciduous tooth was extracted and traction of the permanent tooth was performed without the need for an observation period.
The condition of the tooth and the patients' age are important factors in determining the optimal time for treatment of an impacted tooth.