Florid osseous dysplasia in Hong Kong Chinese.

OBJECTIVES

To report the radiological features of florid osseous dysplasia (FOD) in a Chinese population.

METHODS

Twenty-three cases of histologically confirmed FOD affecting middle-aged Hong Kong Chinese women were reviewed.

RESULTS

Sixteen patients presented with symptoms arising from the lesions. Twelve cases exhibited bilateral lesions, five were in both the upper and lower right quadrants, and there were six cases of a solitary lesion; the mandible was affected twice as frequently as the maxilla. Whereas all bilateral and unilateral lesions were provisionally diagnosed as FOD, all six solitary (localized) cases were thought to be other entities. There was a significant association between edentuous areas and FOD lesions.

CONCLUSIONS

While the radiological presentation of FOD in this series of Chinese women appeared similar to that reported in Western populations of Negroid origin, the greater prevalence of symptoms in the former may arise from secondary infection of the FOD lesions due, until recently, to the lack of availability of formal dental care.