ABSTRACT
The first clinical examination can be enlightening if undertaken with care. Several clinical features may be associated with the impaction of maxillary canines and these are important clues that should be looked for
• Missing permanent teeth • Anomalous lateral incisors • Small teeth: Small teeth generally go
together with spaced dentitions. Conversely a lack of space may also be a link with canine impaction, but then the incisor teeth are often unusually large
• Delayed dental age • Full eruption of the canine on one side with
delayed eruption on the other side • Infraoccluded deciduous molars in either
jaw are often found associated with impacted maxillary canines
Each one of the above is an important indicators. All these features should be identified in the clinical examination of the dentition of a young patient.
