Adenomatoid dentinoma or adenomatoid odontogenic hamartoma: what is the better term to denominate this uncommon odontogenic lesion?

We report two cases of an uncommon odontogenic lesion, previously described as adenomatoid dentinoma. They were well-circumscribed unilocular radiolucent lesions exhibiting discrete radiopacities, located in the left mandibular third molar region. Microscopically they were composed of odontogenic hard and soft tissues, similar to a dental germ. Dental papilla and dentin were easily identified. Odontogenic epithelium formed adenomatoid-like structures, and by scanning electron microscopy a layer of enamel was seen in contact with the dentin. Based on these clinical, radiographic, histological and electron microscopical features we proposed the diagnosis of adenomatoid odontogenic hamartoma. Treatment consisted of surgical removal, and no recurrence was observed. In our opinion all similar cases previously reported pertain to the same spectrum of this lesion and thus should be named as suggested above. Moreover, ultrastructural observations using 5 microm sections can be useful to better characterize the presence of hard tissues.