Success rates of different management techniques for impacted mandibular canines and associated complications in children and adolescents

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the success rate of various treatment modalities and complications associated with the occurrence and treatment of impacted mandibular permanent canines. Methods: Seventy-four southern Chinese children and adolescents who received treatment for impacted mandibular canines over a 27-year period were included in the analysis. Treatment modalities and complications that had been recorded in the clinical and surgical notes and that could be diagnosed from the available radiographs were noted. Results: The most commonly-performed treatment for the correction of an impacted mandibular canine was surgical removal of the impacted tooth (n = 59). In cases where surgical exposure of the impacted canine followed by bonding an attachment was performed (n = 7), the average time required for the canine to erupt postoperatively through the soft tissue was 12.2 months (+/- 10.2 months). Lack of movement of the tooth after traction was the only complication reported in these patients (n = 3). The most frequently-reported postoperative sequela observed for all treatment modalities was swelling of the soft tissues around the surgical site (n = 6), and this was persistent even after 48 h. Conclusions: The success rate after surgical intervention and orthodontic traction was 57.1%.