A CLINICAL CASE REPORT OF AN EPIDERMOID CYST OF THE MANDIBLE

Abstract

Epidermoid and dermoid cysts are slow-developing formations of ectodermal origin and their most common location is underneath the skin. Epidermoid cysts of the jaw bones are extremely rare, with only several cases documented in the dental literature. Their most common intraoral location is the floor of the oral cavity, the tongue, lips, palate and cheeks. They are slow-growing painless formations, usually discovered incidentally when imaging scans, as well as histopathological examinations, are performed. A patient sought assistance from us, presenting with painful swelling in the right side of the mandible, without added infection. The radiograph and the CBCT scans revealed a lesion in the region of tooth #48, extending halfway into the mandibular ramus, which was surgically removed under general anesthesia. The surgical technique was cystectomy- complete removal of the cyst with the fibrous capsule. The mucosa above the bone defect is then tightly sealed. The histopathology report described an epidermal cyst. It follows that this type of lesions, though extremely uncommon in the jaw bones, must be considered in the differential diagnosis with odontogenic cysts like follicular odontogeneic cyst and odontogeneic keratocyst.