This review considers the different possible nomenclatures and concludes that dens invaginatus is the most appropriate description. The paper highlights the different reported prevalence figures and concludes that the problem is probably one of the most common of the dental developmental abnormalities with maxillary lateral incisors most commonly affected. The paper suggests that the classification system described by Oehlers (1957a) is probably the most clinically relevant and that the morphological features associated with this problem may increase the risk of pulpal pathology developing and complicate any possible endodontic treatment.

This paper describes the clinical and radiographic features related to the different types of dens invaginatus and highlights those features which may indicate the presence of a previously undetected invagination. Aids to clinical diagnosis are described together with a description of the possible radiographic features, which may suggest the presence of an invagination. Previous treatment suggestions are described and suggestions as to possible management options, based on current endodontic knowledge and the classification of the problems are described.