The peripheral ameloblastoma of the gingiva. Case report and literature review.

A new case of the rare peripheral ameloblastoma of the gingiva is presented. Also the clinical and histomorphologic characteristics of the lesion were analyzed and studied in all previously documented cases. This tumor, and the basal cell carcinoma of the gingiva, probably represent the same lesion. It meets the same microscopic criteria as the intraosseous ameloblastoma, but its behavioral and clinical characteristics are completely different. The peripheral ameloblastoma usually occurs in the gingiva, is noninvasive, and local excision is usually curative. Recurrence of the neoplasm is uncommon, except when it is incompletely excised. The histogenesis and varied cellular pattern of the peripheral ameloblastoma and several other related odontogenic lesions of the gingiva illustrate the proliferative and differentiation potential of the basal cell layer of gingival epithelium.