Dens invaginatus on a geminated tooth: a case report.

AIM

To present a case of a concomitant occurrence of dens invaginatus (DI) and gemination in a mandibular left lateral incisor.

BACKGROUND

DI is a developmental anomaly resulting from the invagination of a portion of a crown in the enamel organ stage of odontogenesis. It is commonly found in the maxillary lateral incisors but also occurs in the central incisors, premolars, canines, and molars in descending order of frequency. The occurrence of DI in the mandible is extremely rare. Gemination results from one tooth bud attempting to split into two. Geminated teeth present with a single root structure and rarely occur in mandibular teeth.

REPORT

A 13-year-old girl presented with a chief complaint of spontaneous nocturnal pain in the mandibular left lateral incisor tooth. Intraoral examination revealed the tooth was enlarged with a notch on the incisal edge extending to the coronal 1/3 of the crown. The radiological examination revealed a Type 2 DI in a Type I geminated mandibular left lateral incisor.

SUMMARY

DI is clinically significant due to the possibility of the pulpal involvement; pulpitis, necrotic pulps, and chronic periapical lesions are often associated with this anomaly without clinical symptoms. Clinicians should be mindful of the possibility of DI when a tooth presents pulpitis without history of trauma or caries and examine the suspicious tooth and the periodontium radiographically.