Odontogenic Tumors: Symptoms, Complaints, Signs

The following symptoms and complaints may indicate an odontogenic tumor:

Main symptoms

  • Often asymptomatic (radiological incidental finding).
  • Mostly painless, bone-hard swelling
  • Possibly “parchment crackling” on palpation (indentation / movement of a thin layer of bone over the tumor).
  • No pressure pain
  • If necessary, displacement of teeth or resorption of tooth roots.

Main symptoms

  • Classic intrabony ameloblastoma
    • Few symptoms
    • Facial asymmetry
    • Distension
    • Swelling
    • Tooth loosening
    • Spontaneous fracture (“spontaneous tooth fracture”) possible
    • Rarely pain
    • Penetration into soft tissue possible
    • Localization: mandible more often affected than maxilla (5.4: 1) – 80% in the mandibular angle.
  • Peripheral ameloblastoma
    • Painless
    • Exophytic (“growing beyond a surface”) growth of the gingiva (gums) or mucosa (oral mucosa)
    • Localization: up to 70% in the lower jaw.
  • Unicystic ameloblastoma
    • Impaired tooth eruption/impacted tooth
  • Ameloblastic fibroma
    • Painless
    • Slowly expansive
    • In 75% of cases associated with unerupted teeth.
  • Adenomatoid odontogenic tumor (AOT).
    • Localization:
      • Intrabony follicular or extrafollicular: predominantly associated with impacted maxillary canines.
      • Peripheral
  • Calcifying odontogenic cyst
    • Painless
    • Slowly progressive (advancing) swelling
    • In 25% of cases with impacted tooth
  • Calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumor (KEOT).
    • Localization:
      • V. a. mandibular-molar region
      • Mostly intraosseous (inside the bone), more rarely peripheral-extraosseous (“around or outside the bone”)
  • Odontoma
    • Painless
    • Incidental finding in eruption disorder of a permanent tooth.
    • Compound: mostly in the front of the upper jaw
    • Complex: mostly in the posterior mandible
  • Ossifying fibroma
    • Painless swelling
    • Mostly pre-molar/molar region of the mandible
  • Fibromyxoma
    • Slow and mostly painless
    • Distension of the jaw bone (asymmetry) with penetration of soft tissue.
    • Mucosal ulceration at an advanced stage.
    • Tooth tilting and displacement
    • Occlusion disorders (disorders of the tooth contacts of the upper and lower jaw to each other).
    • Paresthesias
    • Exophthalmos
    • Localization:
  • Benign cementoblastoma
    • Slow, usually unilateral growth
    • Jaw distension and swelling in 70%.
    • Pain in 61
    • Teeth always react vital!
    • Localization: 75% in the mandibular posterior region.