Odontogenic Tumors: A Review of 675 Cases in Eastern Libya

AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the relative frequency of odontogenic tumors (OTs) in an Eastern Libyan population based on the 2005 World Health Organization (WHO) classification, and also to compare the actual data with previous studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrieved and analyzed 85 OTs from a total of 675 tumors and tumor-like lesions of the oral and perioral structures, for gender, age, tumor site, and frequency. The diagnosis was based on the most recent WHO (2005) classification of OTs. RESULTS: OTs constituted 12.6% of all oral/jaw tumors and tumor-like lesions. Ameloblastoma (28.2%) was the most common type, followed by keratocystic odontogenic tumor (25.2%) and odontoma (19.9%). The male: female ratio was 1.2:1, and maxilla: mandible ratio 1:2. The mean age of occurrence of tumors was 29 years with a peak incidence between 10 and 40 years. CONCLUSIONS: OTs are relatively common lesion in this Libyan Population, but the incidence of tumors is neither similar to Caucasians nor Sub-Saharan population.