A review of 156 odontogenic tumours in Calabar, Nigeria

Background: Odontogenic tumours occur in our environment and because of late treatment, cause considerable disabilities. Objective: To review cases of odontogenic tumours in our centre in order to obtain a baselinedata and subsequently compare the results with that obtained elsewhere.Patients and methods: Using hospital case files and register, we carried out a 15-year retrospective study of odontogenic tumours at the Dental and Maxillofacial Clinic, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Nigeria.The data documented include age, gender, duration of lesion, type of tumour, socio-economic class, type of surgery, and complaints during follow-up reviews.Results: Majority of the patients (n=49, 31.4%) were in the third decade of life. There were 85 (54.5%) males and 71 (45.5%) females, giving male to female ratio of 1.2:1. There was a significant association betweenthe type of odontogenic tumour and the age of occurrence (p=0.000). The longer the duration of symptoms before presentation, the larger the tumours (p=0.000). The benign odontogenic tumours were 151 (96.8%), ameloblastoma (n=74, 47.4%) being the commonest. Jaw resection (54.5%) was the predominant treatment. Majority (58.0%) of the complications following treatment were Facial deformity, malocclusionand impaired mastication.Conclusion: Majority of the patients was in the lower socio-economic class, presented late for treatment and a few with aesthetic and functional impairment returned for secondary surgery. The intervention of agencies of government and non-governmental organizations is required to assist these patients if we are to accomplish the core healthcare system values in our environment.Keywords: Odontogenic, tumour(s), ameloblastoma, late presentation, complications