Cysts of the oro-facial region: A Nigerian experience

Though many studies have examined cysts of the jaws, most of them focused on a group of cysts and only few have examined cysts based on a particular classification. The aim of this study is to review cysts of the oro-facial region seen at a tertiary health centre in Ibadan and to categorize these cases based on Lucas, Killey and Kay and WHO classifications.

All histologically diagnosed oro-facial cysts were retrieved from the oral pathology archives. Information concerning cyst type, topography, age at time of diagnosis and gender of patients was gathered. Data obtained was analyzed with the SPSS 18.0.1 version software.

A total of 92 histologically diagnosed oro-facial cysts comprising 60 (65.2%) males and 32 (34.8%) females were seen. The age range was 4 to 73 years with a mean age of 27.99 ± 15.26 years. The peak incidence was in the third decade. The mandible/ maxilla ratio was 1.5:1. Apical periodontal was the most common type of cyst accounting for 50% (n = 46) of total cysts observed. Using the WHO classification, cysts of the soft tissues of head, face and neck were overwhelmingly more common in males than females with a ratio of 14:3, while non-epithelial cysts occurred at a 3:1 male/female ratio.

This study showed similar findings in regard to type, site and age incidence of oro-facial cysts compared to previous studies and also showed that the WHO classification protocol was the most comprehensive classification method for oro-facial cysts.