The management of lesions of the jaws with liquid nitrogen cryotherapy.

The mandible and maxilla suffer from a number of lesions that, though benign, have a high recurrence rate (10 percent to 80 percent) after simple enucleation. These include the ameloblastoma, keratocyst, odontogenic myxoma, central giant cell granuloma and ossifying fibroma. The appropriate treatment of these lesions is controversial, eliciting accusations of both undertreatment and overtreatment. Liquid nitrogen cryotherapy may be a valuable treatment modality to prevent recurrences of these lesions without causing cosmetic deformity.