An unusal third molar

136

Koc,lt!/e,lo-oddities

aminatio1~s. An intraoral incision was maclc in the ldt buwal mucos;~, i’ollo~ing it1(luctio1l of low1 i1llcstllcsia, ant1 the shot \vas rc~nio\wl by blunt tliswctioll. Kobcrt E. C’litle, D.D.S., senior rcsidcnt Zr’cHileth Ill. zztrrte,1i,r,,, D.M.D., first-year resitlcnt Merrill, 2’. C’i)lu, Il.Zl.8., staff oral surgeon 1~1C?ossc l~utheran Hosl’ital-(:1111clersen Clinic, Iittl. I ia Crossc, Wis. AN

UNUSAL

THIRD

MOLAR

A

57-year-old K’egro woman presented for the extraction of her remaining teeth prior to clcnturc construction. Oral examination findings wre unremarkable except for several caarious teeth ant1 generalized periodontal tliseaw. R,outine panoramic~ x-ray examination showetl a l1orizontall,v impactctl manibular 1cI’t third molar ant1 ill1 unusual iwot l’ormation of the manclibul~~1 right sccontl molar. Also, there ws an appaiwlt niasillar~ right third molai which was causing resorption of the anterior portion of the mandibular ;1sccndi11g ramus. H~wcv~r, oral examination did not wnfirm the presence of a maxillaq right third molar. Intraoral palpation then tlisclosctl the wow11 of this tooth high on the anterior port,ion of the ramns beneath the niucosa. A subsequent panoramic film taken with the mouth opened showed the exact position of this tooth. An apparent maxillary third molar was actually a rotatcd mandibular thircl molar whose apes was in the coronoid process. There was a dcntigwous cyst around the crow11 of this tooth which was remorctl together with the tooth. John

R. Blakewore

Resident, Oral Surgery University Hospitals Cleveland, Ohio 44106