Squamous odontogenic tumor. Report of five cases and review of the literature.

Five previously unreported cases of squamous odontogenic tumor are reported and the literature is reviewed. This lesion appears to be a benign odontogenic neoplasm arising from rests of Malassez; it occurs over a wide range and has a predilection for the anterior maxilla and the posterior mandible. Maxillary lesions are more aggressive than mandibular ones. The most common sign is mobility of teeth in the area. Radiographically, the most characteristic picture is that of a well-circumscribed semicircular radiolucency bounded by a sclerotic border and emanating from the area of the alveolus adjacent to the roots of teeth. The histologic features are sufficiently characteristic to differentiate it from ameloblastoma and epidermoid carcinoma; however, evaluation of the entire clinicopathologic picture is necessary to exclude the diagnosis of squamous odontogenic tumorlike proliferations in an odontogenic cyst.