Dentistry and Dental Materials

Introduction: Several treatments have been described for the management of oral cysts, although none has been accepted globally. Nowadays, decompression, marsupialization, enucleation and resection of lesions are accepted as valid. The benefits of marsupialization and decompression include the gradually decreasing of the cystic cavity; preserving the adjacent oral tissues, maintaining pulp vitality, avoiding dental extractions, preventing iatrogenic damage to adjacent noble structures, avoiding mandibular fractures and reducing the risk of recurrence. In all cases, a second surgery is needed to eliminate totally the cystic lesion after decompression. Decompression and marsupialization are procedures that require patient’s commitment. They need several control appointments and constant hygiene with repeated irrigation, gauze soaked in iodine of the cystic cavity.

 

Aim: The aim of this work is to evaluate the effectiveness of the decompression and marsupialization as the primary treatment of the cystic lesions of the jaws and oral mucosa and their reduction rates involving different factors.

 

Materials & Methodology: A total of 12 patients with cystic lesion of the jaw and mucus-containing cystic lesion of the minor salivary gland were treated with decompression and marsupialization followed or not by enucleation. Pre- and postdecompression clinical features and panoramic radiographs were analyzed.

 

Conclusions/Clinical significance: Decompression and marsupialization proved to be simple, low cost, relatively noninvasive, painless, and low recurrence techniques to treat oral cystic lesions. All patients treated with decompression were reported to have shown a reduction in lesion size and higher sensitivity with a larger lesion size. There was no diff erence in the eff ect of decompression based on age, and only one patient experienced recurrence of the cyst.