Radiographic characteristics of dentigerous cysts diagnosed at the School of Stomatology of the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia

Objective: To evaluate the radiographic characteristics of dentigerous cysts (DC) diagnosed at the School of Stomatology of the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) during the period of 2010–2017. Material and methods: Retrospective, descriptive, observational and cross-sectional study, where the panoramic radiographs of 37 cases of DC were selected. Results: The total number of diagnosed cases of dentigerous cysts was 233, which after inclusion and exclusion criteria, 37 cases were obtained, of which 45.9% of cysts were found in the second decade of life with a higher frequency of 51.4 percent for women, and a jaw predilection of 59.5% in all cases. In addition, it was found that 97.3% of the cases were radiolucent, defined limits were found in 67.6%, corticalized edges in 54.1% and unilocular in 94.6%. All dentigerous cysts were associated with a tooth, of which closed apex (48.6%) and tooth displacement (59.5%) were observed. The adjacent tooth was not affected in 56.8% of cases, but its hard lamina was affected (59.5%). The 68.2% of cases did not affect the basal mandibular cortex, but did displace the inferior dental canal (54.5%) and 46.7% of cases displaced the floor of the maxillary sinus. Conclusions: Most of the results obtained on the characteristics in the Peruvian population support previous studies reported in America, Europe and Asia. Radiographically the dentigerous cyst showed characteristics that support its clearly benign behavior.