Purpose: To estimate the prognosis of simple bone cyst of the jaws.
Subjects and methods: We reviewed 132 of our own and published cases that received postoperative follow-up until healing or recurrence. The recurrence rate was obtained from treatment outcomes. The time to healing or recurrence was estimated from the distributions of the times of examinations that confirmed healing or recurrence.
Results: Simple bone cyst lesions healed in 98 cases and recurred in 34 cases. The overall recurrence rate was 26%. The recurrence rate was 71% and 75% for cases with multiple cysts and cemento-osseous dysplasia, respectively. In most cases, healing or recurrence was confirmed within 3 years, 5 months of surgery. The maximum number of cases with healing and recurrence was observed 12 to 17 months and 2 to 2.5 years after surgery, respectively.
Conclusion: The recurrence rate was higher than rates reported previously. We recommend that postoperative examination be continued until complete healing is confirmed radiographically, particularly in cases with multiple lesions or cemento-osseous dysplasia. Healing or recurrence should be confirmed within 3 years of treatment.