Is there any role left for conservative treatment of ameloblastoma?

Objectives: Ameloblastoma is an aggressive benign tumor of epithelial origin that may arise from the enamel organ, remnants of the dental lamina, the lining of an odontogenic cyst, or possibly from basal epithelial cells of the oral mucosa. It occurs both in maxilla and mandible and may cause important facial deformities. Treat-ment involves radical surgery with a safety margin. The main objective of this paper was to review the most sig-nificant case series in the literature to define which kind of treatment achieves best results, regarding disease control and recurrence rates. Methods: We conducted an analytic literature review of the following databases: Medline and Scielo. Discussion: Treatment with curettage is inadequate and may leave islands of the tumor within the bone. Marginal or en bloc resection is the widest form of therapy with many surgeons advocating margins of excision to include 1.5 cm of clinically normal bone. Conclusion: The high recurrence rates of conservative treatment make it prohibitive.