What is the definition or description of: impacted tooth?

Impacted Tooth: An impacted tooth is any tooth that is prevented from reaching its normal position in the mouth by tissue, bone, or another tooth. http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/impacted+tooth.

Impacted Tooth: A disorder in which a tooth is so crowded in its socket that it cannot erupt normally http://www.Thefreedictionary.Com/impacted+tooth.

Abnormal position: An impacted tooth is one that cannot erupt at the normal time. The most common situation are wisdom teeth that are poorly situated and have no room to erupt into the mouth. The upper jaw canines are very commonly impacted, most usually due to lack of space. It is very common for orthodontists to create room for and forcibly erupt (bring in) the upper jaw canines. This is best done from 11-13 Y.O.

Stuck tooth: An impacted tooth is stuck in the tissue. The tissue is usually bone, but can also be soft tissue. Can also be a combination. We see them in the roof of the mouth (usually the canines), and most often the lower wisdom teeth. These are unable to erupt into the mouth on their own and need to be surgically extracted. See the oral surgeon for this treatment.

Un-erupted tooth: An impacted tooth is one that is for one of many reasons unable to erupt into the oral cavity: they may be vertical, horizontal, in bone, impacted in soft tissue (gum/gingiva), it may be due to local pathology i.e. Proximity to an extra tooth or undifferentiated mass of tooth like tissue or an "odontoma", it can be due to crowding, and usually it is a wisdom tooth that lacks room or poor position.

Failure to erupt: There are many types of impactions. Tissue, when only gum is covering the tooth. Boney, where th tooth is covered by bone and gum. And there are types of bone impactions: horizontal vertical, mesioangular, disto angular etc.