Evaluating the implant candidate 211

adjacent bone along with the tumor. Failure to do this probably accounts for the fact that about one-third of these tumors recur after excision.

A patient with an ameloblastoma is a poor implant candidate. The extensive resetting required to remove all of the tumor causes a great deal of dam-age to the jaw. It would not only be difficult to find an implant site but extremely hard to properly fit and balance a prosthesis. In addition, the great tendency for this lesion to recur makes the candidate a bad risk.

Fig. 6-16. Similar to a multilocular ameloblastoma in radiographs, the acanthomatous ameloblastoma is aggressive and distorting. (From Bhaskar, S. N.: Synopsis of oral pathology, ed. 3, St. Louis, 1969, The C. V. Mosby Co.)

Acanthomatous ameloblastoma. Acanthomatous ameloblastoma, a benign lesion of epithelial origin, exactly resembles an ameloblastoma in x-rays (Fig. 6-16). Only under the microscope can the differences be detected. For the same reasons a patient with an ameloblastoma is a poor risk, so is the patient with an acanthomatous ameloblastoma.

Adenoameloblastoma. Like the two previous be-

Fig. 6-17. An impacted tooth is usually associated with an adenoameloblastoma, another benign tumor of epithelial origin. (From Bhaskar, S. N.: Synopsis of oral pathology, ed. 3, St. Louis, 1969, The C. V. Mosby Co.)

Fig. 6-18. Progress in the development of a cementoma. A, The lesion appears radiolucent as bone has been replaced by fibrous tissue. B, The lesion becomes more radiopaque as hard tissue replaces fibrous tissue. C, The lesion is radiopaque, bone or cementum having replaced the soft tissues. (From Bhaskar, S. N.: Synopsis of oral pathology, ed. 3, St. Louis, 1969, The C. V. Mosby Co.)