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Reports of gingival peripheral ameloblastoma are extremely rare and have been sporadic. This paper reports a pertinent case of a 40-year-old woman who for 2 years had a progressively enlarging asymptomatic firm mass in the buccal gingival region of the lower premolars. Cupping of the underlying bone was radiographically demonstrated. The lesion was excised surgically together with extraction of the first premolar, and no evidence of recurrence was seen 5 years later. The clinical, radiological, and histopathological characteristics of gingival peripheral ameloblastoma were analyzed in the 33 previously reported cases. The differential diagnosis and treatment of this case report are discussed.

Twenty-one cases of Gorham's disease in the maxillofacial region are described in the literature. This case is an additional one. The disease has a slight male predominance. All cases involved either the mandible alone or in association with the maxilla or other bones of the head and neck. The most common symptoms were pain, tooth mobility, mandibular pathological fractures, and facial deformity. The mean duration of symptoms prior to diagnosis was 6.4 years. Treatment included surgery, radiotherapy, and various medications, alone or combined. Four patients died of their disease. The diagnosis of the initial biopsy was incorrect in 45% of these cases. The current case appears to be the only one successfully treated by excision and autogenous bone graft reconstruction. In order to make an accurate diagnosis, the histologic features should be correlated with the clinical features.

An aggressive form of odontogenic cyst known as the keratocyst has been reviewed with a report on the findings of 70 new instances. Recurrence after 2 years of followup was found to be 20%. From both a review of the literature and original cases, carcinomatous and ameloblastomatous transformation in odontogenic keratocysts seems to be an extremely rare phenomenon. Alternatively, epidermoid carcinoma and mucoepidermoid carcinoma arising centrally within the jaws are often associated with other types of dental cycts. Review of 36 instances of central epidermoid carcinoma has disclosed that 75% were associated with a cyst lining; the 2-year survival rate was found to be 53%. Central mucoepidermoid carcinoma was associated with a dental cyst or impacted tooth in 48% of the cases, and enjoyed a 100% 2-year and 5-year survival; however, 2 patients were recorded alive with disease at 4 months and 10 years, whereas another patient succumbed to disease 14 years postoperatively.

Eight cases of intraoral melanocytic cellular nevi are presented, together with the clinical features and limited follow-up information. These cases are added to those already published, so that a meaningful series may eventually be analyzed.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of two different denture construction techniques on the maturation of the oral mucosa. Complete maxillary and mandibular dentures were constructed for 64 patients. Half of the subjects received dentures fabricated by a complex technique, and the remaining subjects received dentures fabricated by a standard technique. Cytologic smears were made from four regions of the denture-bearing mucosa at yearly intervals for 5 years following construction of the dentures. The smears were stained by the Papanicolaou technique. Microscopic analysis based on cytologic characteristic revealed no discernible difference between the mucosa of those subjects with dentures constructed via the complex technique and that of those with dentures constructed via the standard technique.

Sialadenoma papilliferum is a rare tumor of salivary gland origin. A review of the English-language literature indicates that only four cases have been reported. This article describes the clinical and histologic characteristics of an additional case occurring on the left retromolar pad.

A case of recurrent herpetic whitlow is discussed. The patient, a dental assistant at the time of her initial infection, developed herpetic whitlow caused by herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). She has subsequently experienced nine recurrent infections with lesion spread, scarring, and persistent paresthesia. The severity of the most recent recurrences appears to have diminished, and prodromal sensations, that is, increased local sensitivity, have occurred without the subsequent development of lesions.