Two fluid-filled gingival lesions in the mandibular canine-first premolar area

The appearance of two gingival cysts in the area of the mandibular right canine and first premolar is reported in a 46-year-old black man (Fig 1) along with a single cyst in the same location in another patient (Fig 2, 3). Gingival cysts are compared with lateral periodontal cysts. The similarities in location, clinical behavior, morphologic appearance, and age of occurrence would indicate a strong relationship. The gingival cyst probably represents the extraosseous counterpart of the intraosseous lateral periodontal cyst. A distinction based on strict clinical, radiographic, and surgical criteria should be made between these cysts.