The buccal bifurcation cyst: in non-surgical treatment an option?

The mandibular buccal bifurcation cyst (BBC) was first described by Stoneman and Worth in 1983. It is a lesion with a specific location, classically the buccal surface of the mandibular first molar and less frequently the mandibular second molar. There have been numerous reports in the literature describing the BBC and its treatment. Treatment advocated thus far includes extraction of the involved first molar, marsupialization and enucleation of the cyst. In their most recent article, Pompura, Sándor and Stoneman reported on the successful treatment of 44 cysts with enucleation without tooth extraction. This article will describe the diagnostic features of the BBC and present three cases with a total of five cysts, which were treated non-surgically and ultimately resolved. The authors, therefore, propose that a more conservative non-surgical approach to these lesions may be considered.