[Dentigerous cysts of children treated by cyst wall enucleation. Report of eleven cases].

The present paper describes ten children with eleven cases of dentigerous cysts which were treated by extraction of the primary teeth, cyst wall enucleation and lingual-arch spacemaintainer. The patients were seven boys and three girls, with a mean age of nine years two months, in Hellman's Dental Age IIIA and IIIB. In eight of the cases, the mandibular second premolar was involved, and of the remainder, two cases involved the first premolar, and one case, a maxillary lateral incisor. In eight out of the eleven cases, the pulp of the primary tooth had been treated. Radiographically, nine cases exhibited a pericoronal space of 15 mm-35 mm and two cases 50 mm-55 mm. The material for histological examination, typically, gave the appearance of a stratified squamous epithelium showing chronic inflammation. Healing took place more rapidly than routine marsupialization. In eight cases the successor erupted in the normal position without orthodontic treatment, in two cases with light orthodontic power. In one case the behavior of the permanent tooth was kept under observation. From the above, this approach to treatment by cyst wall enucleation and lingual-arch spacemaintainer would appear to be very useful for the young child.