1) The patient, a 40-year old, reported a slowly growing hard swelling on the posterior mandible where a wisdom tooth is missing.
2) To manage the patient, the doctor will take a history, examine clinically and radiographically, consider differential diagnoses, make a diagnosis, discuss treatment options including enucleation or marsupialization, and follow up after treatment.
3) Key considerations include the cystic nature suggested by slow growth, missing tooth suggestive of a dentigerous cyst, and treatments aimed at complete removal while minimizing morbidity.