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Aim: The aim of this study was to perform a retrospective analysis of 52 cases of odontoma treated at the Department of Dentistry and Surgery, University of Bari, in the period 1971-2005., Methods: The odontogenic tumors were diagnosed as complex or compound odontoma following histological analysis and clinical radiological examination, and applying the 2005 WHO classification. The data analysis was conducted by considering the following factors: gender, age, site of the lesion, association with impacted teeth, aplasia, presence of supernumerary teeth as well as preoperative diagnosis by panoramic and periapical radiographs. Biopsy tissue samples were conventionally processed for histopathologic paraffin embedding and then were observed by optical microscopy and subsequently by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) in autofluorescence., Results: Thirty specimens (57.6%) were from females and 22 (42.3%) were from males patients. The patients' age ranged from 5 to 75 years. Fifty-one percent of the specimens were excised from the mandible. In the maxilla, the most common location for odontomas was the anterior region. Most odontomas were associated with impacted teeth and only in one case there was an odontoma instead of a permanent tooth., Conclusion: Odontomas are considered hamartomatous malformations whose diagnosis is generally formulated by routinary radiographic examination. The CLSM analysis could help in diagnosis and histopathological analysis showing well-defined follicular area entrapped in hard tissues and pointing out ghost cells, otherwise not identifiable by traditional microscopy.

Impaction of the maxillary canine is not a rare affection. A correct treatment can be appointed only after a serious evaluation of the case. In this work, the Authors describe clinical and radiographic methods which give the possibility to make a correct diagnostic evaluation of the maxillary canine impaction. A correct radiographic analysis could allow to three-dimensionally locate the impacted teeth and to show resorptions or ankylosis. Literature reports a great number of radiographic analysis; conventional methods can be used in simple cases, but, in difficult cases, some Authors suggest to use five different projections. New technologies in digital radiology allow to have high quality images, using which it is possible to make a diagnosis of great accuracy, also in difficult cases. Bidimensional images can show little particulars; three-dimensional images give the possibility to understand immediately the problems of the case also to not expert operators. The rate of radiation absorbed by the patient is similar to a panoramic radiograph. These characteristics make CT the method of election in difficult cases of maxillary canine impaction.

Dental anomalies involving real shortfall in the number of teeth (agenesis) or apparent deficiency (impaction) have been studied in a population sample including 700 national servicemen aged between 19 and 26, in the period April-August 1989. The study was carried out by means of careful objective examination and the systematic performance of orthopantomography showed that 5.14% of the population examined is affected by dental agenesis. The tooth most often involved in agenesis is the lateral maxillary incisor followed by the third mandibular molar, the second mandibular premolar and the second maxillary premolar. As regards apparent agenesis, the upper and lower wisdom teeth were the most frequently involved in physiological or pathological bone impaction (this event occurs in almost 50% of third molars). The maxillary cuspid is also impacted with some frequency. The data obtained were compared with those in the world literature.

The authors carried out clinical and statistical investigations on 784 cases of dental retention with the aim of comparing their data with that of other authors as well as express some of their considerations on the etiopathogenesis, the complications and the therapy of dental retention.

The results are reported of an epidemiologic research carried out on 205 patients which presented bad occlusions. We found that 9.27% of the patients presented inclusions of canine teeth, that female subjects were more affected by the inclusion than male subjects, and that inclusions were more frequent at the level of the upper jaw.