A Retrospective Study of Jaw Cysts in Thai Population

Objective:  The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the demographic information and clinico-radiographic features of the patients with jaw cysts in a group of Thai population. Method: Pathology reports from the Department of Oral Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University from 2003 to 2012 were reviewed. Data of cases diagnosed with jaw cysts including age, gender, lesion location, signs and symptoms, radiographic features, and histologic diagnoses were recorded. Descriptive data analysis was performed using the Excel version 2013. Result: 19.55% of total 6,265 cases had cystic lesions (19.55%). Odontogenic cysts accounted for 93.31% of the jaw cysts. Radicular cyst was the most prevalent type of the jaw cysts (34.53%), followed by dentigerous cyst (27.92%), and odontogenic keratocyst (15.18 %), respectively. The most common type of odontogenic cyst was radicular cyst (36.19%) and the most common type of non-odontogenic cyst was nasolabial cyst (37.5%). The mean age of patient with jaw cysts was 19 years. The jaw cysts were slightly more prevalent in males (51.84%) than in females (48.16%). The most frequent occurring site of the jaw cysts was the posterior mandible (34.69%). The majority of jaw cyst patients complained of painless swelling (31.35%). The most commonly reported radiographic finding was unilocular radiolucency (75.18%) with well-defined margin (38.04%). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that the jaw cysts are relatively common lesions in Thai population. Odontogenic cysts outnumber non-odontogenic cysts in incidence. Frequency, demographic and clinical characteristics of the jaw cysts are comparatively similar to previous studies with some minor differences.