Intraosseous odontoma erupted into the oral cavity: an unusual pathology.
OBJECTIVE
Odontoma arising in the extraosseous soft tissue is extremely uncommon. Two forms of odontoma are presently recognized: peripheral odontoma and erupted odontoma. We report an erupted odontoma arising in the posterior maxilla, and discuss the main differences between both forms of clinical presentation.


METHODS
Case study.


RESULTS
A 23-year-old man presented with a firm gingival mass on the left posterior maxilla, that had gradually enlarged over one year. Orthopantomography showed a dense radiopaque mass occupying the posterior portion of the left maxilla. The pathology was reported as complex odontoma.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the eleventh reported case of erupted odontoma. Unlike peripheral odontoma, erupted odontoma is generally a complex odontoma, and affects older patients.
Junquera
Luis
L
Universidad de Oviedo, Hospital Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain. Junquera@sci.cpd.uniovi.es
de Vicente
Juan Carlos
JC
Roig
Primitivo
P
Olay
Sonsoles
S
Rodríguez-Recio
Oliver
O
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008441:Maxillary Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009810:Odontoma / Q000473:pathology*