A 45-year-old man referred to the Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences for routine dental and periodontal examinations. The patient's medical history was not significant. He was not a smoker and revealed no history of trauma or jaw surgery. On extraoral examination, he had a normal appearance. On intraoral examination, the patient had neither any pain nor swelling on the buccal and lingual aspects of the mandible. The radiographic images showed a well-defined unilocular radiolucency below the apices of the left lateral incisor and left canine teeth [].\nFurthermore, deep caries was observed in the left lateral incisor. The clinician suspected a periapical lesion of endodontic origin, but unfortunately, the vitality test of the tooth was not done. To rule out any possible existing pathology in anterior mandible, a diagnostic excision biopsy was planned. The surgical exploration revealed the lingual cortex had been destroyed. Further, the gross examination indicated a soft, relatively firm, brownish, gray mass with granular surface measuring approximately 20 mm × 10 mm × 20 mm. Moreover, histopathologic examination showed a normal salivary gland tissue, with many mucous acini and ducts, which was consistent with normal sublingual gland []. The sections from few other areas revealed inflammatory cells, muscle tissue, fat tissue, blood vessels, and nerve bundles []. Thus, based on the clinical, radiographical, and histopathological findings, the final diagnosis of SBC with ectopic salivary gland tissue was made. Clinical and radiographic controls were performed during 3 months of follow-up. No changes in the zone have been detected.
A 49-year-old asymptomatic male patient was referred to a private clinic in order to undergo routine panoramic radiography. Results showed an oval-shaped, radiolucent area of cystic aspect and regular, well-defined cortical outline; its longest axis was placed horizontally in the left hemimandible. This lithic area, located under the lower left third molar, was anterior to the mandibular angle, and reached the border of the mandible, which showed thinner than normal width due to the presence of the bone defect. The apparent unity of the upper contour of the lesion and the upper wall of the mandibular canal gave them a thicker than normal appearance. The fact that the lower wall of the mandibular canal was visible within the radiolucent area showed that there could be a neighboring relationship, but not an involvement, of the inferior alveolar nerve ().\nAs a hard buccal protuberance was perceived on palpation, a CT was performed. The coronal view in the CT scan showed that there had been a distention of the mandibular buccal cortex and that glandular tissue had been spreading into the bone defect. A further coronal view revealed the buccal location of the mandibular canal, which was preserved (Figures and ).\nA previous scintigraphy revealed an inflammatory condition associated with an obstructive process involving the submandibular glands, particularly on the left side ().