Odontogenic cysts: A 40- year retrospective clinicopathological study in an Iranian population

Abstract

Objectives: To focus on distribution of different histologic types of odontogenic cysts (OCs), patient gender and age, and cyst location in an Iranian population and compare results with others studies in different geographic locations and/or racial populations.Materials and Methods: A 40-year retrospective study of 1189 patients with OCs that were diagnosed from 1971 to 2011 in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry, Mashhad, Iran, were presented in this study.Results: In contrast to most of previous studies that have been reported inflammatory OCs as the most common type, in the current study, among cystic lesions of the jaws most were developmental in origin (62.30%). The most commonly diagnosed inflammatory and developmental odontogenic cysts were the periapical cyst (30.45%) and dentigerous cyst (26.80%) respectively. Developmental cysts were happened more in males whereas inflammatory types showed more tendencies to females. The patients' mean age was 27.20 ± 15.93 years, with a peak of occurrence in the second decade of life followed by the third decade. A high posterior mandibular incidence (41.85%) was observed, whereas some previous reports showed anterior maxilla predilection.The most common histological types of developmental cysts were aggressive [Dentigerous cyst (DC), odontogenic keratocyst (OKC) and calcifying odontogenic cyst (COC)]. Furthermore, these three varieties representing more than half of all studied cysts (59.30%) at our Service.Conclusions: Knowledge of the incidence of odontogenic cysts and their clinicopathologic features, including most common location, gender and age distribution in different ethnogeographic backgrounds is necessary for the accurate diagnosis and differentiating aggressive lesions from other kinds of cysts