Treatment of Labially Impacted Upper Central Incisors

When the parents or the general dentist notices erupted upper lateral incisors and only one erupted central incisor in an 8-to-10-year-old child, it raises the possibility of an impacted upper central incisor - a significant esthetic concern. Treatment of such a patient in the mixed dentition requires an understanding of the eruption pattern of the permanent teeth. If the single central incisor had erupted six months previously, for example, or the lateral incisors had erupted before the central incisor, it would indicate a developmental problem requiring further investigation.