Background: Many studies have investigated the burden of odontogenic tumor (OT) in Nigeria; however, the true burden and prevalence of these lesions are not known because these studies are based on a center/region.
Aims: Hence, the aim of this study is to evaluate the true burden of OTs in Nigeria, using a multicenter approach.
Materials and methods: This is a 10-year retrospective cross-sectional study of OT seen in eight tertiary health institutions in different geographic locations in Nigeria.
Results: A total of 990 cases were included in this study. The highest prevalence of OT was in the third decade of life (n = 274, 27.7%). Most lesions were benign (n = 961, 97.1%), with a slight male preponderance; and the mandible was the commonest site (n = 814, 82.2%). There were a significant association between the diagnosed OTs and the age group and site (P = 0.002 and 0.031, respectively).
Conclusion: OTs showed a slightly higher preponderance in males, occurring mostly in the third decade. Benign lesions were frequent and ameloblastoma was the commonest OT. Variations exist in the occurrence of OTs from the different geographic locations in Nigeria. This study essentially sheds a broader light on the clinicopathological distribution of OTs across Nigeria, using a large multicenter approach.
Keywords: Ameloblastoma; Nigeria; descriptive epidemiology; multicenter; odontogenic tumors.