Talons Cusp: It is an Accessory cusp seen in the Cingulum area of the Incissors and Canines of both Maxillary and Mandibular teeth. It is named as Talons Cusp because it resembles the Talon of an Eagle.
A deep developmental groove present where the cusp joins the lingual portion of the tooth. It is considered as a developmental disturbance of tooth and is mostly seen in the Lingual side of the tooth near the cingulum as seen in the definition above.
Here is an image of a very rare Facial Talons cusp which was seen as a rare combination of Dens invaginatus exhibiting as an accessory cusp on the facial cusp of Incissor.
As we can see from the image above the rare Facial talons cusp can be treated by taking a radiogrpah to access the extent of pulp involvement in the talons cusp and the cusp can be reduced with tooth cutting burs to make it even with the tooth surface.
The talons cusp is a potential site for caries involvement as there are grooves which accumulate plaque and food materials which are the predisposing factors for Caries formation, so best treatment is an evasive treatment rather than an invasive one. If tooth structure lost makes the tooth brittle we can go for either Composite build up or Crown or Veneers as Facial surface of Incisors is aesthetically important.
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