The beginning of oral pathology. Part I: First dental journal reports of odontogenic tumors and cysts, 1839-1860.

Literature reviews of oral lesions frequently lack an appropriate historic perspective, presuming that the mid- to late-twentieth century reports are the first valid reports available. The mid-nineteenth century dental journals, however, are replete with clinical, surgical, and microscopic descriptions of oral tumors and cysts. Most of these have never been referenced during the present century. The purpose of this article is to report the earliest dental journal references for a variety of odontogenic tumors and cysts. These references are derived from a canvass of all dental journals published from the first journal (American Journal of Dental Science) in 1839 to the appearance of Dental Cosmos and the organization of the American Dental Association in 1860.