## 4 Discussion  
The study of the association between PDC and specific craniofacial characteristics and other dental anomalies is of great clinical relevance [9]. Numerous studies have sought to determine predictive models based on dental, occlusal, and skeletal characteristics in patients [9; 47; 49]. Identifying the possibility of canine impaction has important clinical implications in dentistry, such as early diagnosis and preventive planning [50]. Understanding the predictors of canine impaction allows the clinician to make the correct decision as to whether to monitor canine eruption or to intervene. Thus, early intervention, such as extraction of deciduous canines [50] or maxillary expansion [50; 51], can minimize the possibility of complications arising from tooth impaction, such as root resorption [52], and could reduce treatment time or avoid more complex or surgical treatment [50; 53]. Most reviewed studies reported a predominance of unilateral impaction over bilateral [2; 12; 13; 14]. Similarly, our study found that bilateral canine impaction was less frequent (26.5%) compared to unilateral impaction, with similar percentages to other studies reporting bilateral impaction rates between 17% and 28% [29]. Other authors reported lower rates of bilateral impaction (around 2%) [2] or, conversely, higher rates (45.4%) [10], with some even finding bilateral impaction more common than unilateral [15]. There is no consensus in the literature regarding a predominance of impaction on one side. Some authors reported higher left-side impaction [54], while others reported higher right-side impaction [29]. In our study, the most common impaction was the right upper canine, although the distribution was fairly uniform. Several studies have observed a relationship between maxillary canine impaction and other dental anomalies [8; 26; 28; 29; 30; 31; 35; 37; 38; 39]. The relationship between lateral incisor agenesis and canine impaction has been documented by numerous authors [28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33], who observed frequent cases of agenesis associated with impacted canines [12]. However, in our study, canine impaction did not appear to be associated with agenesis. Moreover, no relationship was found between the type of canine impaction and a higher prevalence of dental agenesis. Additionally, most patients with impacted canines in our study did not present other dental inclusions. The most common inclusion was that of third molars, which has been found to be more frequent in the general population [2; 8]. This suggests that there may be no relationship between PDC and the presence of other dental inclusions. Some authors attribute palatal displacement of canines to the absence of an eruption guide from the lateral incisor root during physiological canine eruption, particularly in cases with upper lateral incisor anomalies [11; 26; 30; 34; 35; 36]. In our sample, a higher proportion of patients did not present conoid or microdontic lateral incisor alterations. Various studies have associated PDC with genetically determined dental anomalies, such as agenesis or conoid or microdontic lateral incisors [11; 27; 31; 41]. [PERSON] et al. [48] found that the presence of conoid lateral incisors can be an important early risk indicator for maxillary canine impaction, as it manifests before canine eruption. Although we did observe a relationship between patients with left unilateral impaction and a significantly higher proportion of conoid or microdontic lateral incisors, when all the cases of canine impaction were grouped together, a significant association was found between the absence of conoid or microdontic lateral incisors and PDC. In this regard, in our study, a significant relationship was observed between PDC and the absence of agenesis, and no association was found with family history of agenesis when all the cases of canine impaction were grouped together. Furthermore, a significant relationship was found between PDC and the absence of family history of PDC in this study when all the cases of PDC were grouped together.