A Case of an Anterior Lingual Mandibular Bone Depression in a Child

Anterior lingual mandibular bone depression (ALMBD) is categorized as the anterior equivalent of the similar posterior mandibular lingual bone depression (or defect) known as Stafne's cavity. The first case of ALMBD was reported by Richard and Ziskind in 1957.¹ It is rare to observe this defect in children and most lesions are diagnosed in adults.²

Anterior bone defects (ABDs) are rarely seen compared to posterior ones. Both anterior Stafne bone defects (ASBDs) and ALMBDs are thought to be caused by pressure of the sublingual salivary glands.^2,3 The exact mechanism of this bone resorption, however, remains uncertain.² ASBDs and ALMBDs are pseudocysts of the mandible and have also been referred to as lingual mandible bone cavities, lingual mandible bone depressions, mandibular salivary gland inclusions, and static, latent, or idiopathic bone cysts, cavities, or defects.⁴ While these are non-neoplastic bony lesions, their radiographic features and clinical manifestations can resemble other intra-bony neoplastic lesions. These defects are most often unilateral and rarely bilateral. Usually, both lesions are randomly identified during radiographic examination. Some additional imaging methods, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT; also known as multislice CT), cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), and sialography, can be helpful to confirm the diagnosis of atypical lesions and avoid unnecessary surgical procedures, because these lesions are frequently asymptomatic.⁵ Dental clinicians should be aware of this entity to prevent unnecessary biopsies. In most cases, clinical and radiographic follow up is the recommended course of action. In this article, we report a rare case of a 12-year-old girl with an asymptomatic, unilocular ALMBD in the left mandibular area that showed an unusual healing pattern with a preliminary diagnosis of ASBD.