| Ameloblastic fibroma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Histology of developing tooth with enamel, dentin, ameloblasts, and odontoblasts labeled. Tooth bud is in maturation/crown stage. | |
| Symptoms | Painless swelling of the jaw.[1] |
| Complications | Impacted tooth.[1] |
| Usual onset | Childhood or adolescence.[1] |
| Diagnostic method | Dental radiograph.[1] |
| Differential diagnosis | Ameloblastic fibro-odontoma or odontoma.[1] |
| Treatment | Surgical excision or curettage and removal of the effected teeth.[1] |
| Frequency | 2% of odontogenic tumors.[1] |
An ameloblastic fibroma is a fibroma of the ameloblastic tissue, that is, an odontogenic tumor arising from the enamel organ or dental lamina. It may be either truly neoplastic or merely hamartomatous (an odontoma). In neoplastic cases, it may be labeled an ameloblastic fibrosarcoma in accord with the terminological distinction that reserves the word fibroma for benign tumors and assigns the word fibrosarcoma to malignant ones. It is more common in the first and second decades of life, when odontogenesis is ongoing, than in later decades. In 50% of cases an unerupted tooth is involved.
Histopathology alone is usually not enough to differentiate neoplastic cases from hamartomatous ones, because the histology is very similar. Other clinical and radiographic clues are used to narrow the diagnosis.