[Odontogenic cysts]

Odontogenic cysts form a group of diseases whose origin is linked to the persistence of epithelium resulting from the complex embryonic development of the teeth and jaws within the connective tissue. Inflammatory reactions of the surrounding area of the persisting odontogenic epithelium accompany epithelium proliferation, which leads to the development of a gradually expanding cavity that supersedes the surrounding structure. The correlation between activity of the inflammatory reaction and the development of the epithelial proliferation results in a relatively broad variation of histological features of the cyst wall. Since classification of cyst forms depends on their topographical features, clinical information on the classification of variations is urgently needed. For the classification of their clinical course of development and, in particular, in order to differentiate them from cystic odontogenic tumors of the jaw region, a histological examination of cyst wall tissue is necessary, all the more so since the development of a carcinoma deriving from the odontogenic epithelium has only been described in very few cases.