Use of the multidirectional cat scan in visualization of an impacted tooth

Dental trauma in the anterior region of the maxilla occurs very frequently in childhood. In the majority of cases, trauma compromises the formation and eruption of anterior teeth, particularly the maxillary permanent incisors, which may lose the potential to erupt, and remain retained in the bone, originating a process known as posttraumatic impaction The treat of impaction is almost always multidisciplinary, depending on the degree of severity, and can range from a simple incision to ortho-surgical traction and requires accurate diagnosis. Conventional clinical and radiological exam constitutes the basis for primary diagnosis, but under conditions in which better visualization of the region involved is necessary, the orthodontist may require other imaging exams to safely conclude diagnosis. This study contains a clinical report of a patient, an 8-year old leukoderma boy, who presented an impacted tooth 11. Initially, by the conventional radiographic method, the option was to perform ortho-surgical traction, but tooth 11 was not fully visualized, and a multidirectional tomograph was requested, which showed evidence of the presence of accentuated root dilaceration of the tooth in question and its close relationship with the nasal fossae, making it impossible to perform orthodontic tractioning. Therefore, based on the second diagnosis, the option was to extract the tooth, perform orthodontic treatment and future prosthetic reconstruction.