Mucosal antral cysts observed within a London inner-city population.

Mucosal antral cysts(MACs) appear as dome-shaped soft-tissue opacities and have prevalences of between 1.6% and 8.7% on otherwise normal panoramic radiographs. The aim of this survey was to define the prevalence in the inner-city population in London. A 14% prevalence for MACs was observed in the panoramic radiographs of 1000 consecutive patients attending King's College Hospital dental casualty department sited in inner London, which is higher than those reported for other populations. MACs were not significantly associated with the presence of signs and symptoms of periapical areas of bone loss. The differential diagnosis and management of these lesions are discussed.