Introduction: Impaction of the permanent maxillary canines is a serious dental
development disorder that affects about 3% of the general population. Its final position
in the occlusion is critical for the completion of the arch form, functional occlusion,
dental symmetry, and harmony. Aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate
the impacted maxillary canine location on 3D images and to determine positional
components associated with impaction severity that may affect treatment difficulty.
Material and methods: The current study included 40 CBCT scans of 40 unilateral
impacted canines where several angular and linear measurements on the reconstructed
panoramic, axial, sagittal, and coronal views were measured and then based on the angle
between the impacted canine and their proposed post-treatment position, the sample
was divided to three impaction severity groups, group 1: Mild (IMPC/VAC <30º),
group 2: Moderate (IMPC/VAC 30º-55º), and group 3: Severe (IMPC/VAC >55º).
Results: Severity of impacted canines increased when their cusp tips were close to
midline distance<4mm ,and the vertical distance to the maxillary occlusal plan was
>14mm, when their root apices were far from the dental midline a distance>23mm,
and from the skeletal midline a distance>16mm. Severity of the impacted canine was
associated with increased angulation IMPC/VAC>45º, IMPC/midline>45º, and IMPC/
PL>120º. Conclusions: Cone beam computed tomography images enable thorough
localization of impacted canines and their relationship to neighboring anatomical
structures, the use of virtual aligned canine in the recent study is a reliable and applicable
method that can be used in future research.