Nonsyndromic bilateral type II dens invaginatus in maxillary lateral incisors: A case report

Dens invaginatus is a malformation of teeth probably resulting from an infolding of the dental papilla during tooth development. Teeth most affected are maxillary lateral incisors and bilateral occurrence is not uncommon. The abnormal morphology of these teeth often produces infections of odontogenic origin. The caries prone invagination of tooth structure which may communicate with the dental pulp leads to early necrosis with a resultant periapical infection. It is thus important that an early diagnosis of the presence of such teeth be made in order to avoid extraction at later stage. This case report describes the anomalous development of maxillary right and left permanent lateral incisors characteristic of dens invaginatus.