Maxillary canine transpositions in two brothers and one sister: associated dental anomalies and genetic basis

Abstract

Transposition is an uncommon dental anomaly involving positional interchange of two teeth. The maxillary canine is the tooth more frequently transposed in man. Maxillary canine-first premolar appears to be the most common type of tooth transposition, followed by maxillary canine-lateral incisor transposition. Maxillary canine transpositions are frequently associated with other dental abnormalities such as agenesis and pegshaped incisors. This report describes the presence of transposed canines in one sister and two brothers. The female showed bilateral maxillary canine-first premolar transposition with the left canine fully mesial to its neighboring first premolar, and the right canine blocked-out facially between the first and second premolar. One of the brothers showed full maxillary left canine-lateral incisor transposition. The other brother showed maxillary canine-first premolar transposition and agenesis of maxillary lateral incisors, with the left canine blocked-out facially between the first and second premolar. Findings from this case report and other previously published cases provide strong evidence that maxillary canine transpositions are a disturbance of tooth order and eruptive position resulting from genetic influences within a multifactorial inheritance model.