Cystic lesions of the jaws: 13 years experience

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveCysts of the mouth and jaws are common, and their management is an essential component of oral surgery. Patients may present with symptoms though more frequently they are asymptomatic and are referred as a result of incidental finding by a dentist. This retrospective study reviews the clinical presentation, radiologic features, management and outcomes of jaw cysts treated by a single oral surgeon between 2005 and 2018.MethodsMedical records were reviewed for data on diagnosis, pathology, treatment modalities and follow‐up outcomes among the patients. The principal emphasis is to report the outcome of odontogenic keratocytes managed conservatively in relation to recent World Health Organization classification.ResultsRecords of 214 patients having a true cystic jaw lesion were reviewed. The most common cystic lesions were radicular cyst (38%) followed by dentigerous cysts (36%) and odontogenic keratocyst (OKC) (10%). Fifty‐six percent (56 of 214) of all cystic lesions were asymptomatic on presentation and were identified by imaging. All patients underwent surgical intervention, including biopsy, enucleation and/or curettage as indicated. Cases were treated principally by enucleation. None of 214 cases showed any recurrence. Marsupialisation was the treatment for seven cases of eruption cyst and two cases of dentigerous cyst associated with erupting teeth in children.ConclusionsJaw cysts are not unusual, many of these cysts are asymptomatic and are identified incidentally on orthopantomography. Radicular cyst was the most common followed by dentigerous cyst and OKC. All the patients were treated successfully with surgical intervention and none showed any recurrence.