General dental practitioners frequently refer patients with unerupted premolars for specialist management. The frequency of unerupted lower second premolars in 15-year-old children has been cited as high as 9.7%. Two cases are discussed involving unilateral unerupted premolars, which initially appear to be in unfavourable positions. The first patient was referred at 16 years of age and presented with an unerupted lower left first premolar positioned along the lower border of the mandible. The second patient presented with an unerupted distally inclined, horizontally positioned second premolar impacting on the roots of the first permanent molar. Both cases were reviewed without any treatment, and both premolars erupted into excellent positions. This raises important questions concerning the possible treatment options for such teeth as well as the timing of any interceptive treatment. In cases where premolars are unerupted or impacted, a multidisciplinary approach is indicated involving orthodontics, paedodontics and oral surgery to establish the optimal treatment plan.

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Transposition of the maxillary canine and the lateral incisor is a complex dental anomaly to treat. The difficulty increases if the treatment aims to correct the transposition. These case reports describe 2 patients with transposition of the maxillary lateral incisor and canine. The first case involves bilateral incomplete transpositions, and the second is a complete transposition. The radiographic appearance of the canine was similar in the 2 patients. However, the treatments were distinct because of the 3-dimensional positions of the teeth. The first case involved palatally placed lateral incisor roots. To prevent resorption of the lateral incisors, the canines were moved into position buccally. In the second case, the lateral incisor root had a buccal position, and the canine crown was tractioned palatally. The position of the lateral incisor root was critical when electing the correct treatment and mechanics for each patient.

Specialist orthodontists preferred BMTs to bands on first permenent molars. Direct bonding was favoured using a 30-second etch, a light-cured primer and adhesive with specialized molar tube holders. BMTs were perceived to be more cost-effective than molar bands.

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