Cherubism

Cherubism is a hereditary disease characterized by symmetrical painless enlargement of bilateral jaws [1, 2]. Typical lesions begin in children aged 2–5 years, and the incidence of male and female is about 2:1 [3–5]. The lesion is characterized by painless enlargement of bilateral mandibles. The bone tissue in the lesion area is absorbed and replaced by a large number of abnormally proliferating fibrous tissues [2, 3, 6]. The lesions mainly invade the mandible and less involve the maxilla. Those with mild symptoms often need X-ray films to find out the disease, and those with serious lesions may have obvious swelling and deformity of the maxillofacial region. Most patients are accompanied by abnormal development of a dental and maxillofacial system, which can cause chewing, pronunciation and swallowing dysfunction in severe cases. Cherubism has a certain degree of self-limitation, but most patients’ facial deformities can still last until adolescence.