Compound odontomes in mixed dentition: speed bumps in tooth eruption

An odontoma is merely a developmental anomaly. Odontomes are one of the most common type of odontogenic tumors and are generally asymptomatic. An odontome gives rise to ameloblasts and odontoblasts and are considered to be developmental anomalies resulting from the growth of completely differentiated epithelial and mesenchymal cells. Histologically, there are two types of odontomes: Compound and Complex. Both undergo a second classification considering the location: (1) Central Odontoma, have intra-bony location (2) Peripheral Odontoma, have extra-bony location; usually in soft tissues like muscles, gums and mucosa, and (3) Erupted Odontoma, exposed to the oral cavity, causing painful symptoms due to inflammation, which is the rarest in Literature. The most frequent being intraosseous while an erupted odontoma in the oral cavity can be regarded as a rarity. This case report describes a compound odontome diagnosed in a child with resultant delayed eruption of permanent mandibular teeth. Impacted permanent mandibular left canine and premolar were brought in normal positions by surgical excision of the lesion. An early diagnosis of the same allows better prognosis with the adoption of a less complex and expensive treatment.