unicystic ameloblastoma C D A J O U R N A L , V O L 4 8 , NÂş 5/6
Unicystic Ameloblastoma Presenting as Dentigerous Cyst: A Case Report Brinda Suhas Godhi, MDS; Raghavendra Shanbhog, MDS; Usha Hegde, MDS; and Suhas S. Godhi, MDS
a b s t r a c t Unicystic ameloblastoma (UA) is a subtype of the common
odontogenic tumor ameloblastoma. The clinical and radiological presentation of UA can present a confusing picture of an odontogenic cyst. Several reports in the literature claim that a UA arises from a dentigerous cyst (DC), but there is no conclusive evidence to support such a contention. With these conflicts, we report a case of UA in a 13-year-old patient that mimicked a DC on clinical, radiological and incisional-biopsy examination.
AUTHORS Brinda Suhas Godhi, MDS, is a reader in the department of pedodontics and preventive dentistry at the JSS Dental College and Hospital, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research in Mysuru, India. Conflict of Interest Disclosure: None reported.
Usha Hegde, MDS, is a professor and head of the department of oral pathology at the JSS Dental College and Hospital, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research in Mysuru, India. Conflict of Interest Disclosure: None reported.
Raghavendra Shanbhog, MDS, is a reader in the department of pedodontics and preventive dentistry at the JSS Dental College and Hospital, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research in Mysuru, India. Conflict of Interest Disclosure: None reported.
Suhas S. Godhi, MDS, was a professor and head of the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the I.T.S Centre for Dental Studies and Research in Ghaziabad, India. He died in 2011. Conflict of Interest Disclosure: None reported.
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dontogenic cysts and tumors constitute a considerable percentage of pathologies involving jaws.1 Unicystic ameloblastomas (UA) are variants of ameloblastomas, which refer to those cystic lesions that show clinical and radiological characteristics of odontogenic cysts, but on histological examination show typical ameloblastomatous epithelium that lines part of the cyst cavity with or without luminal or mural tumor proliferation.2 Dentigerous cysts (DC) are common developmental odontogenic cysts of the jaws and account for approximately 20% to 24% of all epithelium-lined jaw cysts.1 In the literature, a number of authors have claimed that ameloblastoma arises in a dentigerous cyst. But according to Shear, there is no evidence to support such a contention.3 Much of the confusion has
probably arisen for three reasons. Firstly, ameloblastoma, which is similar to an odontogenic keratocyst, may involve an unerupted tooth and may incorrectly be interpreted as a DC on radiographs. The second reason is that the biopsy in an ameloblastoma may be taken from an expanded locule lined by a thin layer of epithelium and thus mimicking a dentigerous cyst. Third, as Lucas pointed out, apparently isolated islets or follicles of epithelium are sometimes found in the cyst wall some distance from the epithelial lining.3 These have been interpreted as ameloblastoma, although they bear only a superficial resemblance to the tumor. With these conflicts, herewith we report a case of a 13-year-old female patient with a unicystic ameloblastoma that mimicked a dentigerous cyst on clinical, radiological and incisional biopsy examination. M AY/JUNE 2 0 2 0  263
