Odontogenic Tumors in Pediatric and Adolescent Populations: A Scoping Review

To integrate the available data published on odontogenic tumors (OT) in the pediatric population into a comprehensive analysis.

A scooping review based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) statement was conducted. Four databases were assessed, followed by manual and gray literature searches. Case series or observational studies focused on pediatric OTs were included. The critical appraisal was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute tools.

A total of 32 articles were included, comprising 1944 OTs in individuals up to 20 years old. Benign lesions represented 99.5% of the identified tumors. In general, ameloblastoma (42.1%) was the most frequent lesion. However, when analyzing only the retrospective studies that included all types of OT (9 studies/1321 individuals), odontoma (28.8%) was more prevalent, followed by ameloblastoma (27.2%). The mean age of the individuals reported in the studies commonly was in the second decade of life. Regarding the male-to-female ratio, a higher incidence in males was identified in 19 articles.

Our findings reaffirm the characteristics of OTs in this population, predominantly occurring in males in the second decade of life, demonstrating a clear predominance of benign lesions over malignant counterparts.