INTRODUCTION:
The term ‘odontoma’ has been used for any tumor of odontogenic origin. However, odontomas have become known as mixed odontogenic tumors because they are composed of both epithelial and ectomesenchymal components.1 Both the epithelial and the ectomesenchymal tissues and their respective cells may appear normal morphologically, but they seem to have a deficit in structural arrangement. This defect has led to the opinion that odontomas are hamartomatous lesions or malformations rather than true neoplasms.2