Can Overlap of Dermatome-Like Fields in the Maxillary Canine Region Explain Canine Transpositions and Canine Agenesis?

Introduction: Questions concerning maxillary canine transposition and maxillary canine agenesis remain unexplained. These questions are raised in this original hypothesis. The Hypothesis: The hypotheses are that the maxillary canine can be located in a separate dermatome field and that this field can overlap neighboring fields just as overlap occurs in body dermatomes. It is also hypothesized that delay in innervation and maturation of dermatome-like canine field may be the etiology behind maxillary canine agenesis and combined canine agenesis and first premolar agenesis. Evaluation of the Hypothesis: It is demonstrated in this article how embryology, growth, and development combined with clinical examples makes it possible to suggest answers to these rare questions concerning transposition and agenesis of the maxillary canines. The answers might be the foundation of future studies for genotypic mapping. All though the answers to these hypotheses seem reasonable, they are difficult to prove.