Clinical and radiological characteristics of odontomas: A retrospective study of 90 cases

PURPOSE: Odontomas represent a common clinical entity among odontogenic tumors, but are not well-addressed in the Vietnamese population. The present study aimed to determine the clinical and preclinical characteristics of odontomas and associated factors in the Vietnamese population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study retrieved data from histopathological diagnoses from 2 central hospitals of Odonto-Stomatology in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam during 2004-2017. The odontomas were classified as complex (CxOD) or compound (CpOD) subtypes. The epidemiological, clinical, and radiological characteristics of the odontomas, stratified by subtype and sex, were obtained and analyzed. RESULTS: Ninety cases, consisting of 46 CxODs and 44 CpODs, were included. The average age of patients was 32.4 (±20.2) years. The patients with CxOD were older than those with CpOD (P<0.05). Clinically, 67% of patients showed an intraoral bone expansion. Approximately 60% of patients with CxOD exhibited a painful symptom, about 3-fold more than those with CpOD (P<0.05), whereas almost all patients with CpOD exhibited perturbations of dentition, unlike those with CxOD (P<0.05). Radiologically, CxOD was characterized by a larger dimension than CpOD in both sexes (P<0.05), and CpOD induced complications in adjacent teeth more often than CxOD (P<0.05). The development of odontoma with advancing age differed significantly in odontoma subtypes related to their pathological origins, and between the sexes, resulting from different physiological states. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study highlight the value of clinical and radiological features of odontomas and their associated factors for the early diagnosis and adequate treatment of younger patients.