Diagnosis and localization of impacted maxillary canines: comparison of methods.

OBJECTIVES

Numerous clinical signs may be indicative of a canine impaction; however, studies determining the efficiency of visual inspection and digital palpation in localizing an impacted maxillary canine are sparse. Of the radiographic techniques, no studies have compared the accuracy of the horizontal and the vertical parallax techniques to determine the location of an impacted canine. Hence, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficiency of visual inspection and digital palpation, and to compare the accuracy of the horizontal and vertical parallax techniques in determining the location of an impacted maxillary canine.

METHODS

The study sample comprised the records of 522 patients who had attended a dental hospital. The location of an impacted maxillary canine was determined radiographically using the vertical and the horizontal parallax principles. The findings were then confirmed from the surgical records in those cases that had undergone surgical intervention of the impacted canine.

RESULTS

The position of the impacted canine was determined successfully by visual inspection and digital palpation in 85.3 and 85.2% of the cases respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The vertical parallax technique demonstrated a higher degree of accuracy (97.7%) and a greater degree of diagnostic capability (98.2%) when compared with the horizontal parallax technique (92.6 and 78.0% respectively).