Objective: To describe the clinical and radiographic features of odontogenic jaw cysts in patients undergoing decompression with an obturator at the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology, Hanoi.
Subjects and methods: A prospective, non-controlled descriptive study was conducted on 36 patients with odontogenic jaw cysts who were treated by decompression using an obturator at the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology, Hanoi.
Results: 36 patients with a total of 40 jaw cysts were assessed in the study; patients under the age of 14 made up the majority (91.7%). The ratio of males to females was 1.25:1. The most common clinical symptom was cortical bone expansion (86.1%), with buccal cortical expansion occurring in 67.5% of patients. The most frequent primary complaint was facial deformity (66.7%). The mandible had the highest percentage of cysts (77.5%), with the posterior region accounting for 90.3%; maxillary cysts, on the other hand, were most commonly seen in the anterior region (55.6%). In imaging studies, the majority of lesions displayed clearly defined margins (95.0%) and heterogeneous fluid composition (90.0%). In relation to neighboring structures, cysts predominantly resulted in the displacement of adjacent tooth axes (77.5%). Histopathological analysis revealed that radicular cysts were the most common, accounting for 67.5%, and 60.0% of all cysts were radicular cysts in the mandible; 24 of 27 radicular cysts were associated with primary teeth. The cyst volume group of 3–6 cm³ constituted the largest share at 40.0%.
Conclusion: In this selected group of patients undergoing decompression with an obturator, facial deformity and cortical bone expansion were common; radicular cysts were the most frequent type and were predominantly associated with primary teeth. Larger cyst volume tended to accompany more extensive cortical expansion. These descriptive findings may support clinical planning and follow-up in conservatively treated patients, but should not be generalized to all odontogenic jaw cysts or interpreted as evidence of the independent effectiveness of decompression.