Nasal Teeth: Report of a Case

Abstract

This paper consists of (1) a brief discussion of teeth found in the nose, (2) the report of a case and (3) a concise bibliography. A discussion and a bibliography are included because of the lack of either in the literature available in the English language.The German poet Goethe,1 in 1797, was the first to report a case of a tooth in the nose. Gassner 2 in 1918 found reports of 70 cases in the literature, and Kramer3 in 1932 found 100. At least 4 other cases have been reported since, and there are many which have not been reported.4 Most nasal teeth are maxillary first incisors; some are canines, and a few are premolars and molars. Deciduous teeth are found, but not often. It is unusual to find more than one tooth in the nose. Probably a little more than one half of the teeth so found are supernumerary.The cause is obscure.5 Hereditary influences probably play a part, though not an important one. Several cases of anomalies of the teeth occurring in successive generations have been reported, but none in which there were nasal teeth. Interruption of the development of the embryo at certain critical stages, according to Crosby,6 tends to produce accessory budding, and hence supernumerary teeth. Stafne 7 and others Read at a meeting of the Section on Otolaryngology of the College of

Fully Erupted Intranasal Tooth Mimicking Benign Tumor

“…Clinically, intranasal teeth are seen most frequently on the floor of the nasal cavity, and are often an ivory white mass without any covering of nasal mucosa, or a protruding reddish tumor-like lesion surrounded by granulation and necrotic debris. 2,5 In the current patient, because the mass, however, was fully erupted and covered with nasal mucosa with no attachment to the nasal septum or the lateral wall of the nose, we clinically believed it to be intranasal benign tumor rather than intranasal tooth. So, benign tumors, such as osteoma, odontoma, and enchondroma, and malignant tumors, such as chondrosarcoma and osteosarcoma, were included for the differential diagnosis rather than radiopaque foreign body, anterior rhinolith, any inflammatory lesions because of syphilis, tuberculosis, or fungal infection with intranasal calcification.…”

Intranasal Tooth: Incidental Finding in two Cases

“…7 Supernumerary tooth are very rare condition in non syndromic patients with an incidence of 0.1% to 1% of the population. 8 They are most common in between maxillary central incisors called as mesiodens.…”

Endoscopic Extraction of an Intranasal Tooth: A Review of 13 Cases

“… 13 Theories explaining supernumerary teeth, permanent teeth, or deciduous teeth erupting into the nasal cavity include developmental disturbance such as cleft palate; teeth displaced by trauma or cyst; displacement of a developing tooth resulting from a maxillary infection, either odontogenic or rhinogenic; a genetic factor; obstruction to eruption downward secondary to crowding of dentition, persistent deciduous teeth, or exceptionally dense bone; and the root of an unusually long tooth projecting into the nose. 1,15 …”

“…A variety of symptoms and signs of intranasal teeth had been reported, including unilateral obstruction, 15 chronic nasal discharge, 16 crusting of nasal mucosa, 17 localized ulceration, 9 nasal pain and epistaxsis, 14,16 nasal septal abscess, 10 nasal oral fistula, 1,7 osteomyelitis of maxilla, 9,18,19 facial pain and headache, 13 external deviation of the nose, 20 cacosmia, 20 septal perforation, 14 and chronic intraoral fistula. 3 However, it may be asymptomatic and only incidentally recognized during routine clinical or radiologic investigation.…”

“…Eruption of ectopic intranasal teeth may present as an ivory white mass without covering of nasal mucosa; the diagnosis is usually not difficult. 15 However, it may be completely, or incompletely, embedded in the nasal mucosa and it may be overlooked. 15 On the other hand, the ectopic eruption of a tooth lodged in the nasal cavity may act as a nidus for mineralization and if not discovered, rhinolithiasis may result and the intranasal tooth may be surrounded with debris, granulation, and purulent materials.…”