Etiology of impacted permanent maxillary canines. A review.

The presented article presents a comprehensive survey of current knowledge on impacted maxillary canines with focus on palatal impaction. We worked with the relevant databases and eventually selected the 94 most important studies and monographies. In case of vestibular impaction the literature more or less agrees on that the main cause is the lack of space in the dental arch. However, in case of palatal impaction the situation is not so clear. In etiology of palatal impaction there prevail two opinions: genetic theory and guidance theory. Genetic theory sees genetics as the only cause, while guidance theory says impacted canine is the result of deviations in the shape of upper lateral incisor – agenesis, microdontia, peg shaped crown. Thus, lateral incisor cannot take on the role of guiding crest along which canine erupts into the oral cavity. Other potential causes include local obstruction, pathologies, traumas. However, they appear in only a minimum of cases.