OBJECTIVE: Maxillary canines are the second-most commonly impacted teeth. About two-thirds of the impacted maxillary canines are palatally impacted. Studies in the past have shown that 40% of cases with palatal impaction of maxillary canines presented with agenesis of third molars. Sporadic agenesis of third molars have been associated with polymorphisms in the MSX1 and PAX9 genes. The present study aims at evaluating the association between polymorphisms of PAX9, MSX1 and palatally impacted canines in a random population sample. DESIGN AND SETTING: Fifty individuals with palatally impacted maxillary canines and 50 gender and age-matched controls were included in this study. METHODS: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs12532 of MSX1 and rs2073247 of PAX9, were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism. The significance of the differences among the groups was assessed by odds ratio and Chi-squared test with a 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: Single nucleotide polymorphisms rs12532 [MSX1] and rs 2073247 [PAX9] showed a statistically significant association with palatal impaction of maxillary canines. In addition, the combined presence of the AG/CT genotypes of these genes in an individual caused a significant increase in the risk for palatal impaction. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the rs12532 and rs2073247 polymorphisms of genes MSX1 and PAX9 are positively associated with palatal impaction of maxillary canines. Future studies investigating various other SNPs of these genes in a larger sample of different populations could provide clinching details.