The palatal displaced maxillary canine: early diagnosis and interceptive correction - a guideline for the general dental practitioner.

The maxillary permanent canine has a long path of eruption and can become displaced, leading to displacement on the palatal side and failure of eruption. We highlight current diagnostic strategies to help monitor eruption of this tooth and discuss potential interceptive measures to promote eruption in the presence of displacement. We further investigate the current evidence base with meta-analysis and provide a guide for the general dental practitioner based upon these data. In particular, extraction of the primary canine to normalise the eruptive position of a palatal displaced maxillary canine is unpredictable, but a favourable outcome can be achieved if treatment is commenced between the ages of 10-13 years, the patient is in the mixed dentition, there is space for the permanent canine within the dental arch, and radiographically, the canine crown is not beyond the midline of the lateral incisor tooth. It is important that the general dental practitioner can diagnose normal and abnormal eruption of the permanent canine in children aged between 10-13 years and refer those cases with evidence of displacement in a timely and appropriate manner.