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ABSTRACT:
Odontogenic cysts are classified according to their origin as developmental or inflammatory. The calcifying odontogenic cyst (COC) is a rare example of a developmental odontogenic cyst comprising between 0.37 - 2.1% of all odontogenic lesions. A significant source of disagreement prevails in the terminology of this complex lesion which stems from the fact that there are two different concepts or schools of thought when looking at the nature of COC; the monistic and the dualistic concept. We report a calcifying odontogenic cyst associated with odontoma in a 10 year old boy.
Key words: Calcifying odontogenic cyst, developmental cyst, ghost cells, odontome.
INTRODUCTION
Odontogenic cysts are classified according to their origin as developmental or inflammatory. The calcifying odontogenic cyst (COC) is a rare example of a developmental odontogenic cyst comprising between 0.37 - 2.1% of all odontogenic lesions. Gorlin and colleagues (1962) were the first to describe this entity. They initially regarded it as the oral analogue of the cutaneous calcifying epithelioma of Malherbe but later labelled it as calcifying odontogenic cyst. Prior to this, Rywkind (1932) described it as a variant of the cholesteatoma, while Maitland (1947) regarded it as a type of ameloblastoma.1
In 1971, World Health Organisation (WHO) classification described COC as a "non-neoplastic cystic lesion" In 1992 the World Health Organization (WHO) classified COC within the group of neoplasm and tumors that originate from odontogenic tissues but confirmed that most of the cases are non-neoplastic.1,2 A significant source of disagreement prevails in the terminology of this complex lesion which stems from the fact that there are two different concepts or schools of thought when looking at the nature of COC; the monistic and the dualistic concept.3 Toida made a comprehensive review of the attempts at classifications presented during the last 25 years and added a new dualistic classification.
Although the 1992 WHO classification cited the terms dentinogenic ghost cell tumor (DGCT, suggested by Praetorius et al) and odontogenic ghost cell tumor (OGCT, suggested by Colmenero et al), especially for the solid lesion whose neoplastic nature is not apparent, the authors continue to use the term calcifying odontogenic cyst.3,4
In 1995 Langlais and colleagues had also proposed the term calcifying odontogenic lesion (COL), which encompassed both the cystic and tumorous forms...