Decompression as a treatment for odontogenic cystic lesions of the jaw.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effectiveness of decompression as the primary treatment of odontogenic cystic lesions of the jaw involving factors that affect relative shrinking speed and bone regeneration.


METHODS
A total of 32 patients with odontogenic cystic lesions of the jaw underwent decompression with customized thermoplastic resin stents. Clinical examinations and pre- and postdecompression panoramic radiographs were analyzed.


RESULTS
The mean relative speed of shrinkage of radicular cysts (RCs; 3.37 cm(2)/month) was faster than those of keratocystic odontogenic tumors (KCOTs; 2.87 cm(2)/month) and unicystic ameloblastomas (UABs; 2.71 cm(2)/month). The relative shrinking size increased linearly in a time-dependent manner for KCOTs (r = 0.849, P < .001), RCs (r = 0.681, P = .319), and UABs (r = 0.146, P = .730); a similar relation was detected between the primary radiolucent area of cystic lesions before decompression and relative shrinking speed after decompression in KCOTs (r = 0.481, P = .032), RCs (r = 0.260, P = .673), and UABs (r = 0.370, P = .366), but patient age did not affect the relative speed of shrinkage (P > .05). Furthermore, the increase in bone density was more significant in RCs than in KCOTs (P = .026) and UABs (P = .012) after decompression.


CONCLUSIONS
Decompression was effective in reducing odontogenic cystic lesions of the jaw and increasing bone density. For aggressive lesions, secondary definitive surgery was necessary.
Resident, Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases, College of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Ling
L
Gao
Resident, Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Xiao-Long
XL
Wang
Resident, Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Shao-Ming
SM
Li
Resident, Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Chang-Yang
CY
Liu
Attending Staff, Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Cheng
C
Chen
Resident, Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Jing-Wei
JW
Li
Resident, Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Xiao-Jing
XJ
Yan
Resident, Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Jin
J
Zhang
Attending Staff, Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Wen-Hao
WH
Ren
Professor, Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China. Electronic address: zhikeqian@sina.com.
Ke-Qian
KQ
Zhi
D000328:Adult; D000564:Ameloblastoma / Q000601:surgery; D015519:Bone Density; D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D003803:Dentigerous Cyst / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007573:Jaw Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D007633:Keratins; D008297:Male; D009807:Odontogenic Cysts / Q000601:surgery*; D011842:Radicular Cyst / Q000601:surgery; D015607:Stents
D007633:Keratins