title: Surgical management of impacted teeth using three-dimensional computed tomography.
abstract: The surgical removal of impacted, supernumerary, or ectopic teeth is a routine procedure to the dental surgeon. Because any and all surgical interventions involve anatomic considerations that predispose the patient to a high risk of incidents or complications, it is absolutely necessary to precisely determine the location of the enclosed teeth, to better plan the procedure. Even though the conventional radiographic techniques are commonly used to detect the presence of such teeth, they can present deficiencies. In those situations, additional examinations can be requested. In this article, we are reporting the case of a 12-year-old patient, whose third superior molars appeared in a very atypical position. We chose to request a computed tomography and three-dimensional manipulation of the obtained images. This article, as its main goal, highlighted the importance of computed tomography and of three-dimensional reconstructions as a tool to precisely determine the location of enclosed teeth, thus allowing for a better planning of the surgery and a safer surgical intervention.
authors: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Traumatology, State University of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil.
authors: Fábio Santos
authors: FS
authors: Costa
authors: Alexandre
authors: A
authors: Bellotti
authors: Gustavo Jacobucci
authors: GJ
authors: Farah
authors: Aparecido Néri
authors: AN
authors: Daniel
authors: Edevaldo Tadeu
authors: ET
authors: Camarini
authors: Ana Carulina
authors: AC
authors: Rezende de Moraes Ferreira
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014095:Tooth, Impacted / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*