Bilateral Fusion in Mandibular Primary Anterior Teeth: Report of a Rare Case With a Brief Review of Literature

Vivek Mehta*

Bilateral Fusion in Mandibular Primary Anterior Teeth: Report of a Rare Case With a Brief Review

Fusion is a developmental anomaly of teeth. It is defined as the dentinal union of two embryologically developing teeth. It is more commonly seen in primary dentition and more frequently in incisor region. This paper reports a rare case which had the presence of bilaterally fused primary central incisor and lateral incisor in the mandibular region.

A 4-year-old boy reported to the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India with the chief complaint of decayed tooth in the lower arch. The
family and medical history of the child patient were insignificant. Thorough intraoral examination revealed a primary dentition with carious involvement of mandibular right primary second
molar.

The mandibular arch also revealed an asymmetry in the tooth number. There were
four teeth each present on the left and right side. There was bilateral presence of enlarged bifid
crowns i.e., 71 and 72, and 81 and 82 and deep labio-lingual groove in relation to 81 and 82
(Figures 1 and 3). Intraoral periapical radiograph revealed that the enlarged bifid crowns were
due to fused 71 and 72 (mandibular left primary central incisor and primary lateral incisor), and
fused 81 and 82 (mandibular right primary central incisor and primary lateral incisor). The affected teeth i.e., 71 and 72 showed complete fusion of crown and roots resulting in joined pulp
canal through pulp chambers, whereas 81 and 82 exhibited complete union of pulp chambers
but incomplete union of pulp canals.

Dent Open J. 2017; 4(1): 10-12. doi: 10.17140/DOJ-4-133