Bilateral complex odontomas: a rare complication of external mandibular distraction in the neonate.

BACKGROUND: The authors present an unusual complication of external mandibular distraction in a child with bilateral complex odontomas in the posterior mandible. CLINICAL REPORT: The patient is a 4-year-old girl with a history of micrognathia, glossoptosis, and respiratory distress (Pierre-Robin sequence) treated with neonatal external mandibular distraction. She was referred to our service with bilateral amorphic radio-opaque masses in the body of the mandible.
CONCLUSIONS: The etiology of odontomas is uncertain, but different theories exist, such as local trauma, infection, family history, or spontaneous genetic mutation. After severe intrusion injuries to primary teeth, odontomalike malformations have been known to occur in the underlying permanent teeth later in life. This case highlights that externally placed distractors carry greater potential for injury to internal structures of the mandible owing to the unpredictability of placement.