Article Text
Unusual presentation of more common disease/injury
Dentigerous cyst associated with ectopic maxillary third molar in maxillary antrum
Summary
The treatment of ectopic maxillary tooth is surgical removal via a Caldwell-Luc procedure. Trans-nasal extraction of tooth may be attempted if the tooth is small and sited near the maxillary antrum. It is also mandatory to completely remove all pathological antral tissue and thoroughly assess all resected soft tissue histologically. This is important as certain antral pathologies such as dentigerous cyst, as in this case, may co-exist with an ectopic molar. It is thus important to follow-up such patients. In the absence of any unusual histology, surgery provides the patient with a definitive cure of his symptoms.