Abstract

BLACK, AI; MACHETE, ML  and  MOTLOBA, PD. A 30-year review of ameloblastoma: A tertiary hospital-based study. S. Afr. dent. j. [online]. 2023, vol.78, n.4, pp.184-189. ISSN 0375-1562.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/sadj.v78i04.

INTRODUCTION: The clinical, histological and radiographic presentation of ameloblastoma is well described in the literature. This odontogenic tumour commonly affects the mandible and is locally aggressive and destructive, resulting in disfigurement. Ameloblastoma arises from dental tissues at various phases of tooth development. They are generally asymptomatic, slow growing, locally invasive and rarely malignant with a high recurrence rate. The demographic predilection of these tumours is high in Africans, male and aged 30 years and below. OBJECTIVE: To test the hypotheses that ameloblastomas were predominant in the mandible among black Africans, males and the young. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of ameloblastoma cases from 1991 to 2022.. METHODS: Data analysis was based on 185 histologically confirmed cases. Appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics were undertaken on age, gender, clinical, radiographic and histological characteristics. RESULTS: The average age was 28.81 (14.53), ranging between 3-75 years. The overall male to female ratio stood at 1.18:1. Ameloblastomas were prevalent in the mandible 174 (94.1%), diagnosed as conventional variant 155 (83.7%) and acanthomatous subtype. Radiographically, the lesions appeared as multilocular 97 (55.4%), radiolucent 100 (54.05%) and expansile 129 (67.7%). The average size of the lesions was 77.43 ± 33.83mm, with a range of 184mm. CONCLUSION: Our results validate the hypothesis that ameloblastoma is highly prevalent among black Africans of younger age. The radiographic, clinical and histological characteristics of ameloblastoma in our population are comparable to the vast literature.

Keywords : Ameloblastoma; multilocular; radiolucent.

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