DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2018.v06i04.007

Pages: 1411-1415

It has been proposed, in an animal model, that it is possible to cause disintegration of a developing tooth bud to such an extent, that it leads to the formation of an odontome. However, such an occurrence in the human dentition has not been described. This paper details the case of an impacted permanent mandibular first molar due to an odontome formed by the disintegrated dental follicle of the adjacent permanent second molar. The impacted tooth showed good eruptive movement and erupted into the oral cavity around 8 months after surgical removal of the obstruction. Keeping the eruptive potential of the tooth in mind, even after the date of eruption is past, a minimal intervention approach can be employed. Considering the dynamic nature of occlusal development, the patient is on long term follow up, till complete maturation of the dentition.