Clinicopathological Analysis of Odontogenic Cysts in Iraqi Population

Odontogenic cysts are unique lesions that affect the oral and maxillofacial tissues; these cysts are characterized by slow-growing and expanding. Despite being benign, they can grow to critical size if not diagnosed or treated early. This study aimed to evaluate clinicopathological characteristics of odontogenic cysts of the jaws occurred in a major Center of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology in Iraq Baghdad in the last 11 years and to compare the data with the latest reports. The present retrospective study analyzed 368 odontogenic cysts retrieved from archives at a teaching Hospital/College of Dentistry in Baghdad, Iraq, between 2011 and 2021. The diagnosis of each case was confirmed by the haematoxylin and eosin-stained sections by two expert pathologists. The data collected from patients' case sheets included age, sex, location, and histopathological information. The type of lesions was evaluated according to the World Health Organization classification published in March 2022. Among a total of 3992 biopsy conducted lesions, 368 (10.84%) were odontogenic cysts, with most predominance represented by radicular cysts (n = 212; 57.61%), followed by odontogenic keratocysts (n=66; 17.93%), and dentigerous cysts (n = 59; 16.03%). Mandibular cysts (50.54%) were slightly more than maxillary cysts (49.46%), 222 males and 146 females, with a male to female ratio of 1.52: 1. Odontogenic cysts most commonly occur in the 2nd and the 3rd decades of life. Male patients in their second and third decades had the largest incidence of odontogenic cysts, particularly in the mandible. The radicular cysts are the most frequent type of odontogenic cyst. This large sample provides valuable information of odontogenic cysts over eleven years. It also enables the comparison of data from different countries.