Glandular odontogenic cyst arising in the posterior region of the mandible

Glandular odontogenic cyst (GOC) is a rare, benign, cystic lesion of the jaws, which occurs mostly in the mandible, especially in the anterior region. The histogenesis of GOC remains uncertain and the World Health Organization classified the lesion as a developmental odontogenic epithelial cyst in 1992. In this article, we describe a rare case of GOC arising in the posterior region of the mandible in a 64-year-old male and also present the clinical, radiological and histopathological features of GOC. Radiological examination revealed a solitary well-defined unilocular radiolucent lesion in the left mandibular posterior region. The lesion was clinically diagnosed as radicular cyst associated with the left first molar. The cystic lesion was enucleated from the jaw bone in one piece and tooth extraction was performed under general anesthesia. The surgical specimen was investigated histopathologically and was diagnosed as GOC. Due to the high recurrence rate of GOC, complete removal of the cystic lesion and careful clinical and radiological follow-up are important. In the present case, a panoramic radiograph was taken after 19 months of follow-up, which revealed complete healing of the involved site with no evidence of recurrence.