Case Presentation
Exclusive congenital absence of both the maxillary and the mandibular
canines is a sporadic occurrence, and to date, only a few cases have
been reported that too with at least one canine1.
Bilateral maxillary canine agenesis is rare and ranges between 0.07 and
0.13%. This paper reports non-syndromic bilateral agenesis of permanent
canines in the maxilla and the mandible, with only two such cases
reported before1,2. A 25-year-old female patient
reported to the clinic with a chief complaint of wanting to align her
teeth.
On intra-oral examination, permanent canines were absent in both the
maxillary and the mandibular arches, along with crowding [Figure1].
The patient reported no familial history of missing teeth, no prior
history of extractions, or previous significant dental treatment.
Suspecting that the patient may have multiple canine impactions, the
patient was advised to get a panoramic x-ray done. On radiographic
examination using the panoramic x-ray, it was observed that the
permanent canines were absent in both arches [Figure2]. Several
reasons have been reported for missing canines, such as heredity,
localized disturbances, syndromes, radiological effects, endocrine
disorders, and prenatal infections. However, the exact cause of
Congenitally absent permanent canines in most cases remains obscure.