Unlocking Hidden Teeth: A Pediatric Case of Surgical Exposure of Maxillary Central Incisors

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 16; no. 6; p. e62140
• Main Authors: Rathi, Rashi, Parakh, Himani, Thosar, Nilima R, Pande, Meenal S, Chandra, Aakriti, Yeluri, Ramakrishna, Pankey, Neha, Dhatrak, Vedant M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Cureus Inc 11.06.2024; Cureus
• Subjects: Aesthetics; Airway management; Anesthesia; Anesthesiology; Case reports; Children & youth; Dental occlusion; Dentistry; Hemoglobin; Medical history; Orthodontics; Pediatric Surgery; Pediatrics; Teeth; surgical exposure; general anesthesia; central incisor; pediatric dentistry; unerupted teeth
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.62140

Failure in the eruption of the maxillary incisor necessitates a precise diagnosis and treatment regimen. Impaction can have a number of causes such as physical obstacles in the eruption path, discrepancy in the length of the dental arch, and tooth anomaly. Delayed eruption of anterior teeth can result in a number of issues such as malocclusion and psychological discomfort. In many cases, if the intervention is not done at an early stage, complex orthodontic intervention is required after surgical exposure to enable appropriate eruption. This case report is of a nine-year-old child with unerupted maxillary central incisors. The child was treated surgically for incisor exposure under general anesthesia (GA). Both functional and aesthetic considerations made this surgical procedure necessary. GA was administered due to the negative behavior of the child in a dental setting. Hence, it ensured patient comfort and cooperation. Follow-up examinations showed satisfactory progress in the eruption of the teeth with no complications.