Odontogenic tumors: a 14-year retrospective study in Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Odontogenic tumors (OTs) are lesions that develop exclusively on maxillary bones, and form a heterogeneous group. They vary from hamartomatous lesions to benign and malign tumors. Although they are rarely observed in dentistry clinics, it is extremely important for the dentist to be aware of them. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of odontogenic tumors diagnosed in the population of Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Cases of odontogenic tumors were selected from the anatomopathological diagnostic services at Federal University of Santa Catarina from 1998 to 2011. Clinical data on these cases were collected from biopsy reports and patient files. Seventy-eight cases of odontogenic tumors were surveyed. Of these diagnoses, 51% were keratocystic odontogenic tumors (KCOTs); the remaining cases were mainly ameloblastomas and odontomas. The most frequently observed lesion in this retrospective study was KCOT (more than half of cases). Thus, this study shows that modifying the classification of the OTs altered the frequency of the lesions, possibly making KCOT the most common lesion observed in diagnostic services worldwide.