Dysplastic enamel in odontoma: a light microscopic, microradiographic and SEM study

Dysplastic enamel and calcifications at the enamel surface in 7 odontomas were studied, using correlated light microscopy of decalcified and undecalcified material, microradiography and SEM. Much of the dentin in the odontomas was not covered with enamel. When present, the enamel was immature and assumed a prismatic structure. The prisms were irregular in diameters and often distorted in shape. Enamel perikymata were irregularly distributed and associated with spherical calcifications. The calcifications adhering to the enamel surface or separated from it presented variations in size, morphology, staining reactions and radiodensity. The correlated techniques of light microscopy, microradiography and SEM indicated that all the calcifications adhering to the enamel surface and part of those separated from it may be related to a pathological process of amelogenesis. Most of the calcifications separated from enamel and often formed around nidi of ghost cells, are the result of a dystrophic mineralizing process, definitely distinct from amelogenesis.