Dental OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) Practice Exam

Which term describes lesions located at the crests of the dental ridges?

1. Epstein's pearls

2. Bohn nodules

3. Dental lamina cysts

4. Simple cysts

The correct answer is: Dental lamina cysts

The term that describes lesions located at the crests of the dental ridges is dental lamina cysts. These are epithelium-lined cystic structures that can be found in the alveolar ridges of infants, often in the midline. They arise from remnants of the dental lamina, which is the tissue responsible for the development of teeth. Dental lamina cysts are typically small, pearly-white lesions that appear in newborns and are generally harmless, often resolving spontaneously without treatment. In contrast, Epstein's pearls are small, white cysts that can occur along the midline of the palate in newborns but are not specifically at the crests of the dental ridges, and Bohn nodules are similar but occur more along the buccal and labial aspects of the alveolar ridges. Simple cysts, on the other hand, are a broad category of cysts that could be found in various locations in the oral cavity but do not specifically refer to those at the crests of the dental ridges. Thus, dental lamina cysts accurately describe the lesions in question.