Shahaf Givony¹

¹ Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. Academy of Medicine. Faculty of Odontology.

Abstract

Different types of cysts may appear in the maxillofacial region. The cysts in which their lining was originated from the remnants of tissues that were used to form the tooth, were labeled as odontogenic and later on were subdivided as inflammatory or developmental. The cysts in which their lining was not originated from the remnants of the tooth, were labeled as non-odontogenic. The odontogenic cyst is described as a hollow pathological cavity of the jawbone or the soft tissues which has an outer wall made of connective tissue and an inner wall made of epithelial cells. Inside the cavity, there are solids, liquids or even gas particles. In addition, the odontogenic cysts are characterized by very slow growth, expansion and without any clinical symptoms. In case of an unusual cyst with large size or related infection, various complications such as the expansion of the bone, asymmetry of the face, impaction of teeth, root resorption, movement or loosening of the teeth, occlusal disbalance and even obliteration of the maxillary sinus, nasal cavity and orbital cavity may develop. The most common odontogenic cysts are the radicular cysts, dentigerous cysts, residual cysts and odontogenic keratocyst (OKC). Those cysts have been reported by a variety of countries worldwide such as Spain, Brazil, Israel, Mexico, France, Canada, Italy, Greece, Thailand, Nigeria and Lithuania. One study which was conducted in Canada has shown the most common odontogenic cysts with 65.15% was the radicular cyst, followed by dentigerous cyst with 24.08% and lastly OKC with 4.88%

Keywords: odontogenic cysts, Cystic lesions, Classification, Dentigerous cyst, Diagnostic techniques.