Abstract
Background and aims. Accurate differential diagnosis between radicular cysts and periapical granulomas
cannot be made from radiographs alone. Histological prevalence studies, therefore, assume special
importance and may aid the clinician in making judgments regarding therapy. The incidence of radicular
cysts has ranged with wide discrepancies in data. The purpose of this study was to evaluate recorded
pathologic reports of two common types of chronic periapical lesion in Shiraz Dental School.
Materiasl and methods. In this study, biopsy reports of 227 specimens of chronic periapical lesions
were reviewed. The following information was extracted from each report: patient’s gender, age, tooth
associated with the lesion and the pathological diagnosis. Probable significant differences in the occurrence
of lesions between different ages and genders were analyzed using chi-square test.
Results. 15.9% of the lesions were granulomas, and 84.1% were cysts. A slight difference in the occurrence
of the lesions was found between males and females with no statistical significance (P > 0.005).
The highest incidence of both lesions was in the third decade of life. No significant differences were
found in age distribution of the lesions. The most common location for two lesions was the maxillary anterior
teeth.
Conclusion. Histological differentiation between cysts and granulomas is not always accurate and serial
sectioning of excisional biopsies is more valuable than randomized sectioning of curetted biopsies.