Double teeth: evaluation of 10-years of clinical material

Macrodontia and double teeth: a review and case series

Macrodontia is a dental anomaly pertaining to the increased size of a tooth or multiple teeth. Double teeth are dental abnormalities concerning tooth morphology and the term traditionally refers to geminated or fused teeth. These anomalies may manifest in both primary and permanent dentitions and usually become apparent in childhood. They may cause a variety of clinical sequelae, including orthodontic complications, such as crowding, ectopic eruption of adjacent teeth and periodontal concerns. Double teeth are also at a higher risk of developing caries. The aesthetic implications of these dental anomalies can affect the psychosocial development of a patient. This, together with the range of functional repercussions, can often need dental treatment to improve quality of life. The functional and aesthetic complexities that may arise in the affected patients can require endodontic, restorative, surgical and/or orthodontic input as part of the management strategy and execution. We present four clinical cases of paediatric patients where a range of management approaches were employed for both macrodontia and double teeth.

A case of concrescent tooth-A developmental anomaly in a 19th century skull from Uganda

Dental abnormalities in archeological material such us concrescence or odontoma are rare cases often found accidentally, mostly during routine X-ray analysis or during macroscopic examination of the mastication apparatus. In this study, we present a rare case of concrescence between an upper left third molar and a supernumerary fourth molar in a 19th century skull from Uganda. Simultaneously, it is a critical revision of earlier studies on the same object (which considered this abnormality as an odontoma), using dental X-ray imaging and histological analysis. Concrescence is a rare dental anomaly and this specimen is, to the best of our knowledge, the first such case reported in paleopathological studies of Eastern Africa. It may contribute to recognition and identification of etiopathogenetic factors in dental developmental defects in historical and contemporary populations of Africa.