BACKGROUND Bone grafts have been applied for many years in orthopedic surgery to assist with bone repair for defects or bone discontinuity caused by trauma and tumors as well as periodontal defects. Jaw cysts are another common benign disease of the maxillofacial region which may lead to pathological bone fracture, loss of teeth, and infection. However, whether bone grafts are beneficial for bone regeneration in jaw cystic lesions and when bone grafts should be used remains unclear. AIM To study the efficacy of bone grafts compared to spontaneous healing in the treatment of jaw cystic lesions. METHODS A literature search was performed in Medline, Cochrane Library and Embase to identify related articles published in English in the last ten years. The following key words and MeSH terms were used: “jaw cyst”, “cystic lesion”, “odontogenic cyst”, “periapical cyst”, “dentigerous cyst”, “follicular cyst”, “keratocyst”, “treatment”, “surgery”, “bone graft”, “enucleation”, “cystectomy”, and “bone regeneration”. Case reports, clinical trials, clinical studies, observational studies and randomized controlled trials were included. Study quality was evaluated. RESULTS Ten studies ( n = 10) met the inclusion criteria. Five studies reported spontaneous bone healing after enucleation, three studies investigated the efficacy of various bone grafts, and two randomized comparative studies focused on the comparison between spontaneous healing and bone grafting. Over 90% of bone regeneration occurred within 6 mo after bone grafting. The bone regeneration rate after cystectomy showed great variation, ranging from 50% to 100% after 6 mo, but reaching over 90% after 12 mo. CONCLUSION While the long-term superiority of bone grafting compared with spontaneous healing after cystectomy is unclear, bone grafts accelerate the process of healing and significantly increase bone quality.

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