Preeruptive idiopathic coronal resorption of permanent teeth in children.

Crown resorption of unerupted teeth in children has been reported in the dental literature (1). Such resorption may be similar to tooth resorption in adult teeth that have been embedded for long periods of time (2), but should be differentiated from external tooth resorption following trauma, infection, or excessive mechanical forces (3) and from internal tooth resorption originating from the dental pulp (4). In some instances, clinical recognition of idiopathic coronal resorption has been difficult. It has been erroneously diagnosed as dental caries in unerupted teeth, because of the radiographic similarity to carious coronal destruction (5-10).