Pericoronal radiolucencies: how many are diagnosed as dentigerous cysts?

OBJECTIVE

This study tested how many patients receiving treatment for pericoronal radiolucencies were confirmed to have dentigerous cysts and also assessed factors associated with the prevalence of dentigerous cysts.

STUDY

DESIGN

A retrospective chart review study of 62 patients was conducted, including panoramic radiographs, pathology reports, demographic variables, and clinical data.

RESULTS

In total, 53.2% of study patients were diagnosed with dentigerous cysts. A statistically significant correlation was found between gender and the presence of dentigerous cysts, but not between age and a diagnosis of dentigerous cysts. Unilocular/multilocular lesions and the number of involved teeth also presented statistically significant correlations to this diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that dentigerous cysts are the most common type of pericoronal radiolucencies and highlights the importance of radiographic and clinical data in diagnosis.