Insights into Stafne’s bone cyst: A case report of an accidental finding

Abstract

Stafne Bone Cysts (SBC) represent pseudocysts of the jaw, typically characterized by their presence at the lingual cortical surface and involvement of normal salivary gland tissue. These cysts, devoid of an epithelial lining, exhibit a diverse composition, comprising blood vessels, muscle, fat, connective tissue, lymphatic tissue, nerve bundles, or air. Commonly, SBCs manifest without clinical symptoms or signs, necessitating radiographic methods for diagnosis. They are usually discovered incidentally on routine radiographs of the jaw. We here present a 50-year-old male with pain in the mandibular left side and a routine panoramic radiograph showed impacted mandibular third molars on both sides and a well-defined radiolucency below the inferior alveolar canal on the left side. An incidental finding of Stafne’s bone cyst was made on further investigation on Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). While conventional X-rays serve as the primary diagnostic tool, complex cases may require more precise imaging modalities, such as CBCT.  This case study offers a comprehensive analysis of a unilateral SBC identified in a male patient with an emphasis on the radiographic features.