Epithelial Modulation of a Calcifying Odontogenic Cyst after Active Decompression

The association between the presence of inflammatory cells in the connective tissue of odontogenic cystic conditions and changes in the nature of their lining epithelium has been recognized by oral pathologists since the late 1960’s, mainly in the context of the more common Odontogenic Keratocyst (OKC). This relationship, however, is less documented in other odontogenic cystic entities, such as the Calcifying Odontogenic Cyst (COC). The objective of the present article is to report the epithelial modulation and related subepithelial histologic changes that took place in a calcifying odontogenic cyst treated by means of Active Decompression and Distraction Sugosteogenesis (ADDS). The histopathologic study of the enucleated sample after ADDS demonstrated chronic inflammatory cells with subsequent epithelial dedifferentiation, which was followed by a realignment in the biologic behavior of the pre-treatment lesion.