Clinical analysis of odontoma

Abstract

Forty two odontomas were analyzed clinically and radiographically. The results obtained were as follows: 1. Radiographs seemed to play an important part for the discovery of the odontoma because it is more often seen as incidental radiographic finding. 2. Clinical findings revaled, in order of decreasing frequency, tooth missing (67%), over-retained primary tooth (24%), and expansion of bone (14%); therefore, when these signs were seen in oral examination, adequate radiographic examination should be recommended. 3. The location of the impacted tooth was classified into three patterns: 1) The impacted tooth was under the odontoma. 2) The impacted tooth was next to the odontoma. 3) The impacted tooth migrated to an ectopic location. 4. The impacted tooth which was next to the odontoma or at the some ectopic location seemed to migrate there by the eruption force of the impacted tooth itself.