BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Odontogenic cysts and tumors exclusively develop in the jaws from odontogenesis tissues. Given the importance of the early diagnosis and proper treatment, the present study aimed to determine the prevalence of these lesions in a population from the North of Iran during a 22-year survey.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted by investigating the records in the archives of Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Babol affiliated with the Department of Pathology of School of Dentistry from 1990 to 2012. The demographic features of the subjects including age, gender, anatomic pathology and clinical and pathological lesions were collected in the form of data which were recorded and evaluated.

FINDINGS: Out of a total of 8956 samples with oral lesion dysfunctions, 317 cases of odontogenic cysts and 53 cases of odontogenic tumors were discovered which belonged to 205 men (55.4%) and 165 women (44.6%). The mean age of these patients was 15.15 ± 28.75 years (ranging from 2 to 79 years). Among the cysts, radicular cyst accounted for the highest prevalence (67.8%) while ameloblastoma was the most frequent odontogenic tumor (82.6%). Moreover, the lesions most commonly developed in the maxillary anterior and the posterior mandibular region, respectively.

CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, the incidence of odontogenic tumors is lower compared to the incidence of odontogenic cysts in the north of Iran