Prevalence of dentigerous cysts (ovine odontogenic cysts) in ewes in the South Island of New Zealand

Authors: Gardner DG, Orr MB
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 44, Issue 5, pp 198, Oct 1996
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant, Sheep
Subject Terms: Alimentary system/gastroenterology, Biosecurity, Disease surveillance, Epidemiology, Oral/teeth
Article class: Correspondence

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Abstract: Cysts in the anterior mandible of sheep are reportedly uncommon in New Zealand although their prevalence and economic significance are unknown. They usually develop around an unerupted permanent incisor, perhaps as a result of an abnormality in the eruption process, but their pathogenesis is not clear. They appear as solitary swellings which grow slowly and are lined by stratified squamous epithelium. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of these lesions in mixed-age ewes at meat plants in the South Island of New Zealand. The study was carried out from November 1993 to May 1994 at three meat processing plants. At each plant, 50 consecutive heads from 30-32 randomly selected lines were examined by a veterinarian. Any head that exhibited a swelling of the anterior mandible was retrieved…

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