‘Triplication’ defect in deciduous teeth: an unusual odontogenic anomaly

Abstract

Developmental odontogenic anomalies can occur in primary as well as in permanent dentition leading to morphological variations in shape, size and structure and numerical variations such as hypodontia. The most commonly reported odontogenic anomaly in primary dentition is conjoined teeth. Conjoined teeth can be due to fusion or gemination. Relevant clinical and radiographic evaluation is a must to differentiate between the two. Occurrence of double fusion as an anomaly may not be infrequent, but triple fusion is a rare odontogenic anomaly. We report a case of a 7.5-year-old girl who clinically had a large crown due to triple fusion in her dentition, between two normal primary teeth and a supernumerary tooth. This paper gives a brief insight into the incidence, associated quandaries and diagnosis and treatment modalities of a triple fusion.

Clinical management of fusion in primary mandibular incisors: a systematic literature review

“…Additionally, due to its excessive size the wide double tooth crown can negatively affect the respective arch, thus inducing size irregularity within the arch and thus, major aesthetic or even functional concerns, such as malocclusion. Finally, the resulting proclination caused by double teeth can induce an unfavorable modification of the incisal guide during the occlusion evaluation [26,30].…”

“…A total of 83 full-text articles were then excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria. Seventeen eligible studies published from 1998 until the 2019 were examined during the final review step and finally ten studies were selected [12,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. Summarized information on the selected reports is listed in Table 2.…”

“…This was mainly accomplished by providing general preventive advice. The diagnostic process was successfully reached by clinical observation and conventional radiographs (OPG, intra-oral periapical) [12,19,20,23,26] and model cast [23]. One study reported a unilateral triple fusion between two primary teeth and a supernumerary tooth [26] Regarding the radiographic diagnosis, the degree of tooth mobility must be considered.…”

“…The diagnostic process was successfully reached by clinical observation and conventional radiographs (OPG, intra-oral periapical) [12,19,20,23,26] and model cast [23]. One study reported a unilateral triple fusion between two primary teeth and a supernumerary tooth [26] Regarding the radiographic diagnosis, the degree of tooth mobility must be considered. In case the tooth mobility is progressive, the permanent tooth will substitute the primary tooth soon and therefore no additional measures must be taken.…”