Marsupialisation of dentigerous cysts

Dentigerous cysts are associated with unereupted permanent teeth and arise from the reduced enamel epithelium after tooth development. They are relatively common in boxers and in other breeds and often result in considerable bone loss in the rostral mandible or maxilla. Extraction of the unerupted tooth and enucleation of the entire cyst wall is definitive therapy in most instances. An allograft of demineralised bone matrix and cancellous bone is then normally placed in large defects to stimulate induction of new bone into the area. Incomplete excision may lead to recurrence of the cyst. Also, large cysts have an increased risk of iatrogenic jaw fracture during enucleation of the cyst.
Several case reports on treatment of large dentigerous cysts by marsupialisation are available in human literature. To the authors knowledge there is no veterinary literature where marsupialisation has been used as a 1st stage treatment to encourage cyst shrinkage before enucleation.
This is a case series of dogs which have had dentigerous cysts marsupialisaed as a first stage treatment and enucleated 3-12 months later. Pre and post op CT scans were performed. The cyst volumes pre and post marsupialisation were calculuated using DICOM viewing software (Horos) which showed a large reduction in cyst volume which allowed safer and more precise enucleation of the cyst lining.