Jaw Cyst - Causes and Signs of Jaw Cyst

According to medical indicators, the area of location, and the content of jaw cysts are divided into different types. Among them:

• Keratocyst is a primary cyst of odontogenic origin. It is located on the lower jaw in the area of the wisdom tooth. It can be single- or double-chambered.
• Follicular type - is located in areas where, for some reason, teeth could not erupt. The cyst contains their enamel, its walls are lined with multilayered epithelium, and incisors (formed or unformed) can be located inside. This type is concentrated in the area of the upper or lower canines.
• Radicular type - occurs in 80% of cases. It is also called radicular, since it encircles the tooth root. The membrane of the radicular type is thin, fibrous, consists of plasma cells and lymphocytes.
• Nasopalatine canal cyst – located in the anterior part of the palate, near the roots of the central incisors.

Causes

The main explanation for the appearance of such an ailment is infection during medical procedures (filling, prosthetics). Bacteria that enter the oral cavity can remain inactive for a long time and only when the immune system is weakened can they provoke the growth of the formation.

Factors that can reduce the body's protective functions include stress, exhaustion (failure to comply with the sleep regimen, etc.), hypothermia, difficult eruption of canines, injuries to the gums, the root part of the incisors, past infections (sinusitis, purulent tonsillitis, periodontitis).

A jaw cyst poses a danger to health in general: it explains the development of infectious diseases of the nasopharynx, loss of healthy teeth, and limitation of chewing and swallowing functions.

Symptoms

Small formations are asymptomatic for a long time and are discovered by chance on an X-ray during examination of other teeth.

For cysts that are enlarged in size are characterized by the following symptoms:

• deformation of the bones of the facial skull, formation of a lump, swelling of the mucous membrane;
• headaches as a result of displacement of the maxillary sinus and inflammation of the mucous membrane (cyst of the posterior surface of the upper jaw);
• difficulty in nasal breathing (a consequence of germination into the lower nasal passage);
• formation of the lower jaw, pressing on the alveolar nerve, which leads to numbness of the corners of the mouth;
• with light pressure, manifestation of Dupuytren's symptom (parchment crunch).

With suppuration of the cyst, the following signs are added:

• asymmetry of the face during tissue edema;
• limited mouth opening;
• mobility of the affected tooth;
• tissue detachment.

Diagnostics

Detection begins with examination. Usually, the dentist makes a diagnosis after the initial examination and palpation of the formation. Additionally, the following diagnostic methods may be prescribed: intraoral contact radiography, orthopantomogram, panoramic radiography of the skull in the nasochinic projection, computed tomography, cytological and histological examination of tissues.

Treatment

Treatment is performed surgically. After conducting observations, the dental surgeon selects one of the surgical methods: cystotomy - an intervention to reduce or flatten cysts by removing the front side and connecting it to the tissue of the oral cavity; cystectomy – complete excision and subsequent suturing of the wound. This operation is prescribed for large cysts affecting a third of the tooth and the root.

Prevention

Prevention consists of timely treatment of caries, infectious diseases of the oral cavity and nasopharynx, and oral hygiene. It is necessary to visit the dentist for preventive monitoring twice a year, remove tartar as it appears.