Nasal teeth: report of three cases

Abstract

The ectopic eruption of the teeth into the nasal cavity is a rare phenomenon. We report cases: two involving the nasal cavity and one involving the hard palate and complicated by Aspergillus rhinitis. We describe the clinical and radiologic presentation of these cases and discuss their etiology, complications, diagnosis, and treatment.

Fig 1.

Case 1. CT scans in an 8-year-old boy with an ectopic tooth in the left nasal cavity. A, Coronal scan obtained with a bone window setting of 600-HU WL and 4,000-HU WW reveals that the attenuation of the mass is the same as that of the oral teeth. The mass is separated from the underlying palatine process of the maxilla. B, Axial scan obtained with the bone window setting shows the slit-like cavity well.

Fig 2.

Case 2. Axial CT scan in a 7-year-old girl with an ectopic tooth in the right nasal cavity shows that the mass is surrounded by granulation tissue.

Fig 3.

Case 3. Images in a 59-year-old woman with an ectopic tooth on the left hard palate complicated by Aspergillus rhinitis. A, Plain-film radiograph shows a radiopaque mass in the left nasal cavity. B, Coronal CT scan shows that the lesion has tooth-equivalent attenuation and a shallow bony socket in the hard palate. C, Axial CT scan reveals irregular nodular and fine punctate radiopacities posterior to the toothlike structure.