ABSTRACT Objective:

To compare the agreement of clinical and radiographic diagnosis with the histopathological diagnosis in fibro-osseous lesions of the jaws.

Material and Methods:

An analytical and exploratory study was made based on systematic collected data, carried out in the laboratory of surgical pathology of a public Dental School. There were evaluated cases of fibrous dysplasia (FD), cemento-osseous dysplasia (COD) and ossifyng fibroma (OF), diagnosed by clinical, radiographic (panoramic and periapical radiography), and histopathological analysis, in a period of 12 years (from March 2001 to June 2013). Descriptive and inferential statistics (Fisher's exact test) were obtained.

Results:

Ninety-six cases of FOLs were evaluated. The radiographic aspects of the FOLs studied did not differ significantly (p=0.09). Radiolucent lesions were the least frequent, corresponding to approximately 13.5% of radiographic findings. Mixed lesions and radiopaques were more present, how they were COD and FD, respectively. The more aggressive variation of OF (Juvenile Ossifying Fibroma - JOF) was less frequent among the pathologies evaluated. In approximately 61.46% of the cases clinical and radiographic diagnosis were confirmed by histopathological diagnosis of FOLs. The highest agreement and the highest disagreement were observed in COD cases (40.7% and 62.2%, respectively).

Conclusion:

FOLs of the maxillaries represent a group of lesions in which the establishment of the clinical and radiographic diagnosis supported by the histopathological confirmation is critical and challenging.