Nasopalatine duct cyst: A case report

Nasopalatine duct cysts are the most common of developmental non-odontogenic cysts in the oral cavity and represent 10% of maxillary cysts. The cyst arises from epithelial remnants from the nasopalatine duct. These cysts are usually asymptomatic, but the most commonly reported clinical symptom is swelling in the anterior part of the palate, just behind the palatal papilla. This swelling is not always on midline. The recurrence of this is rare (2%). In this report, a 21-year-old man from Ahvaz, with the chief complaints of numbness, anterior teeth mobility, intraoral swelling and facial asymmetry, is reported. On clinical examination, a nontender swelling on the midline of hard palate and buccal vestibule, covered by normal mucosa was seen. The crown of central incisors was displaced mesially. In panoramic, maxillary occlusal cross sectional, anterior maxillary periapical and computed tomography views, a well-defined unilocular radiolucency with corticated margins was seen in the anterior region of maxilla. Biopsy of the lesion was planned and final pathologic diagnosis was “nasopalatine duct cyst”. Therefore, nasopalatine duct cyst is one of the differential diagnoses of unilocular radiolucencies in the anterior region of maxilla. Histopathologic examinations help us to reach the correct diagnosis and disburden us from unnecessary treatments.