SEVERAL YEARS AGO when I was in college, I noticed a lump forming under my jaw. After awhile I started having a distasteful discharge in my mouth. I went to a dentist to find out if the problem was my wisdom teeth. He took an X-ray, which showed not only that my wisdom teeth needed to be extracted, but he also discovered a large abnormal area, which had been causing the discomfort.
The dentist consulted an oral surgeon, who took a more extensive X-ray, which showed a growth. My wisdom teeth were removed, and a tissue sample of the growth was sent to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry for a biopsy.
When the oral surgeon received the results, he met with my parents and me. He said the growth was an odontogenic keratocyst. He explained that this is a complex, very fast-growing cyst with tumorlike characteristics. He said this was a serious condition and that the cyst should be surgically removed.
