A case of peripheral ameloblastoma

Peripheral ameloblastoma which histopathologically resembles a typical intraosseous ameloblastoma occurs in the soft tissue outside the alveolar bone. We describe a case of peripheral ameloblastoma arising in the gingiva of the premolar region in the left mandible of a 36-year-old man. A brief review of the literatures reported so far in Japan on this lesion and its differential diagnosis in relation to basal cell carcinoma are discussed.