Radiological features of rare non-odontogenic lesions of the jaws

The jaws can be affected by several lesions that manifest in the oral cavity, but little is known about non-odontogenic benign and malignant lesions and their radiological findings.

Our aim was to discuss the imaging findings of non-odontogenic jaw lesions to help the surgeon in the diagnosis and formulating a differential diagnosis for this vast spectrum of jaw lesions with overlapping clinical and imaging appearances.

CT and MR images of the mandible, maxillofacial region, and neck were retrieved from the archive of the Radiology Department of Pamukkale University for the duration between 2012-2023 and assessed.

A total of 8125 CT and MR images were retrospectively analyzed. The mean age of the patients was 39.5 years in females and 43.2 in males, with a range varying from 15 to 72 years. Histopathologically approved benign and malignant non-odontogenic lesions were detected in only 19 patients out of 8125 images (0.23%). Osteomyelitis and abscess were the most common (n=3; 0.03%), followed by two cases (n=2; 0.02%) of each fibrous dysplasia, hemangioma, osteosarcoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and multiple myeloma, and one case (n=1; 0.01%) of each ossifying fibroma, osteoma, lymphoma, metastasis, and solitary bone cyst.

Although non-odontogenic benign and malignant lesions of the jaw are rare, awareness of the radiological features of these lesions plays an important role in their diagnosis and management.