title: Unusual variant of type 3 dens invaginatus in a maxillary canine: a rare case report.
abstract: A 13-year-old boy presented with clinical symptoms of periapical inflammation related to the right maxillary canine. A bizarre radiographic appearance of the root was considered suggestive of a compound odontome. Histological examination of the surgically extracted canine revealed a very rare variant of Oehlers' type 3 invagination. The invagination originated in a pit above the cingulum as a narrow coronal channel that opened into a large cavity inside the dilated root. The radicular part of the invagination contained all components of the attachment apparatus. The root canal and its apical foramen were slit-like and circular. Radiographic appearance of two roots separated by a wide interradicular area in a normally single-rooted tooth is indicative of this variant of type 3 invagination. Timely prophylactic treatment and follow-up or early endodontic treatment confined to the coronal channel are crucial to prevent pulp necrosis and consequent loss of the tooth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Diseases & Normal Dental Morphology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia. stamfelj@mf.uni-lj.si
authors.forename: Iztok
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stamfelj
authors.forename: Andrej A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kansky
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gaspersic
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003481:Cuspid / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D003719:Dens in Dente / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011859:Radiography; D035583:Rare Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery