Analysis of the morbidity of submerged deciduous molars: the use of imaging techniques.

A case is presented of a 13-year-old patient who had a class I occlusion on a class I skeletal base but with a retained and submerged deciduous molar causing impaction of the second premolar. Diagnostic imaging illustrates the potential challenges of the removal of the retained deciduous molar. Magnetic resonance imaging used to identify the path of the inferior alveolar neurovascular bundle clearly delineates its intimate association with the impacted teeth and underscores the risk of trauma during extraction. This is discussed with regard to other cases of submerged molars, and a strategy is outlined.