Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2019 Jul-Dec;9(2):484-488.
doi: 10.4103/ams.ams_152_17.

Inverted Maxillary Third Molar Impactions

Padmanidhi Agarwal  1 , Shailesh Kumar  1 , Kanav Jain  1 , Kamini Kiran  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Inverted Maxillary Third Molar Impactions

Padmanidhi Agarwal et al. Ann Maxillofac Surg. 2019 Jul-Dec.

Abstract

Maxillary third molars are one of the most commonly impacted teeth, but its inverted type is very rare. Five cases of inverted and impacted maxillary wisdom teeth are described here. Two were symptomatic and required transalveolar extractions, while three were conservatively managed. Complications may arise from surgical removal of inversions, and so, removal must be carefully weighed against the benefits of retaining them. This case series discusses the rare occurrence of impacted inverted maxillary third molars, its increased incidence in the Indian population, and the dilemma considering its treatment options. If left untreated, regular follow-up should be done to note for any complication.

Keywords: Impacted tooth; inverted molar; lateral transposition; maxillary impaction; third molar.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Impacted and inverted symptomatic 18 on OPG. (b) OPG after transalveolar extraction
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Impacted and inverted 18 (b) Fine needle aspiration cytology revealed dirty-colored aspirate with pus and high protein content. (c) 18 surgically removed by lateral transposition method
Figure 3
Figure 3
Impacted inverted 28 seen on orthopantomogram and radiovisiography (a and b), asymptomatic with no pathological change, conservatively managed
Figure 4
Figure 4
Inversion of impacted 28 as seen on cone-beam computerized tomography, asymptomatic, conservatively managed
Figure 5
Figure 5
Impacted inverted 28 seen on orthopantomogram, asymptomatic with no pathological change, conservatively managed
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Shafer WG, Hine MK, Levy BM. 4th ed. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 1983. A Textbook of Oral Pathology; pp. 66–8.
    1. Dachi SF, Howell FV. A survey of 3, 874 routine full-month radiographs. II. A study of impacted teeth. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol. 1961;14:1165–9. - PubMed
    1. Kuroda H, Tsutsumi K, Tomisawa H, Koizuka I. A case of an inverted tooth in the nasal cavity. Auris Nasus Larynx. 2003;30(Suppl):S127–9. - PubMed
    1. Pell GJ, Gregory BT. Impacted mandibular 3rd molars: Classification and modified techniques for removal. Dent Dig. 1933;39:330–8.
    1. Pell GJ, Gregory GT. Report on a 10 years old study of a tooth division technique for the removal of an impacted tooth. Am J Orthod Oral Surg. 1942;28:660–6.

Publication types