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Histopathological, histochemical and ultrastructural findings of an extraosseous ameloblastoma occurring in an 89-year-old woman are reported. Rete pegs of the gingival epithelium covering the lesion showed marked extension into the lesion, and direct continuity between the extended rete pegs and tumor follicles was evident. Ultrastructural examination showed that the rete pegs gradually became transformed into double-stranded epithelial cords as they elongated deeply, and that the ends of these epithelial cords gradually became transformed into tumor follicles. These findings suggest that the potential for differentiation is maintained in the basal cells of the gingival epithelium throughout life, and can be triggered by unknown stimuli. The ultrastructure of the tumor follicles was similar to that of intraosseous follicular ameloblastoma, but was different from that of cutaneous basal cell carcinoma. Histochemical staining for keratin protein revealed that the central cells of tumor follicles and the covering epithelium were positive, whereas the peripheral cells of tumor follicles and the elongated rete pegs were negative.

The clinical and histopathologic characteristics of oral soft tissue myxoma are reviewed. A case of soft tissue myxoma of the alveolar ridge is presented, and the diagnosis is discussed.

Cytology smears from 325 oral carcinomas were studied; the false-negative rate was 37%. Cancers of the floor of mouth exfoliated most malignant cells and those of the gingiva exofoliated the least. There was no correlation between the histologic grading, location, sex of the patient, and the result of the cytology smear. Oral exfoliative cytology should only be used as an adjunctive measure and is not a substitute for biopsy.

Twenty patients with primary malignant melanoma of the oral cavity have been described. They formed 3.9 percent of the total number of patients with malignant neoplasms of the oral cavity. The upper gingiva was most commonly affected. In this series, there were 14 male patients and 6 female patients who ranged in age from 26 to 80 years (average 58 years). The first symptom of melanoma was hyperpigmentation of the mucosa in 10 patients, tumor in 7, and pain in 3 edentulous patients with prostheses. Radical surgery was performed in 13 patients, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy in 9 cases. Only 1 patient survived 9 years. The remaining 12 died 11 to 18 months after radical treatment. Palliative therapy was applied in three patients, two patients were treated symptomatically, and two patients refused treatment. Early detection of melanoma is an indication for radical treatment and may increase the survival rate of patients with this disease, which is still very low.

Three cases of granular cell myoblastoma occurring in the Igbos of Nigeria are reported. In this ethnic group the tumor has shown several typical features as follows: it is rarely diagnosed preoperatively; it is found more frequently in the oral cavity and breast than in most other sites; and it is in the maxilla of girls that it usually presents congenitally. A unique presentation in this ethnic group occurred in the perineum. The lesion found in this site appears to be the first to be reported in the literature.

A case of Fabry's disease is reported. The patient had multiple supernumerary, impacted, and unerupted teeth and other developmental abnormalities of the facial skeleton. The patient tolerated surgical removal of impacted and unerupted teeth without complications. However, this did not relieve the facial pain. The expected prognosis of this patient will be a continued vascular and renal degeneration with death probable before the age of 50 years if the disease is untreated. Currently, the patient is being considered as a possible candidate for renal transplantation.

All health care providers must become increasingly aware of the early signs and symptoms of AIDS as KS frequently appears in the head, neck, and oral regions. Dentists are responsible for recognizing these lesions, especially the early lesions, providing dental treatment as appropriate, and for referring patients with AIDS for counseling and treatment that cannot be provided in their office. Early detection of KS is particularly important for patients receiving dental treatment. The dentist must be careful not to further compromise the patient's health by extensive or stressful dental treatment and to prevent intraoperative or postoperative complications. Early supportive and palliative care will improve the patient's prognosis. Dental care will help HIV-infected patients and those with AIDS to avoid caries and periodontal disease. In addition, regular dental care will enable the dentist in the early diagnosis of the disease's oral manifestations, such as candidiasis, hairy leukoplakia, KS, or other oral opportunistic infection. Treatment of these conditions can significantly improve the patients' quality of life and their chances for survival. When universal precautions are used for infection control in the dental office there is no reason that comprehensive dental care cannot be provided for HIV infected patients--both for those that we know are infected and for those that are infected and we don't know about.