Orthodontic treatment of the transposition of a maxillary canine and a first premolar: a case report

INTRODUCTION Transposition is an anomaly of tooth position, the most frequent of which involves the canine and the first maxillary premolar. We describe the orthodontic treatment of a unilateral transposition of an upper canine and an upper right first premolar in the permanent dentition. CASE PRESENTATION A 12-year-old Caucasian boy presented with transposition of his upper right canine and upper right first premolar. He had combined surgical-orthodontic treatment to correct the transposition and to obtain a Class I relationship between the molar and canine. This treatment resolved the dental crowding and achieved good functional and aesthetic results. CONCLUSION In transposition, the choice of the most suitable treatment depends on the occlusion, level of dental crowding, aesthetics, position of the radicular apices, and the specific needs of the patient. In this case, orthodontic alignment of the transposed teeth into their physiological position achieved all of our objectives and our patient was satisfied with the aesthetic results obtained.