Regional Odontodysplasia With Calcifying Hyperplastic Dental Follicle and Enameloid Conglomerates: Ground Section and Polarized Light Microscopic Findings
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Case Report
Abstract: Regional odontodysplasia (ROD) is a rare, non-hereditary developmental dental anomaly affecting enamel, dentin, pulp, and cementum within a localized segment of the dentition. Despite its striking clinical and radiographic presentation, detailed histopathologic characterization using ground sections and polarized light microscopy remains limited, and the associated soft-tissue pathology is poorly documented. We report two cases of ROD with contrasting clinical patterns, both evaluated using a combination of ground section, polarized light microscopy, and decalcified histopathologic analysis. The first case was an eight-year-old girl with recurrent pain and purulent discharge affecting the left maxilla and mandible simultaneously. The second was a 14-year-old girl with a hyperplastic gingival swelling and purulent discharge in the left mandibular anterior segment. Ground sections in both cases demonstrated thin, hypoplastic enamel, an irregular dentino-enamel junction (DEJ) lacking its normal scalloped configuration, extensive interglobular dentin, and widened predentin zones. Polarized light microscopy revealed patchy, heterogeneous birefringence with a loss of the uniform pattern characteristic of normally mineralized dentin in both cases, and foci of enameloid aggregates were identified within the dentinal matrix. The second case additionally demonstrated an inflamed, hyperplastic dental follicle harboring proliferating odontogenic epithelial rests and multiple foci of whorled basophilic calcifications, findings consistent with a calcifying hyperplastic dental follicle (CHDF). These cases expand the histopathologic spectrum of ROD and establish the diagnostic value of a combined assessment of hard and soft tissues. The presence of a CHDF in ROD involving unerupted permanent teeth is an underrecognized but important finding that may radiographically simulate an odontogenic cyst or neoplasm, underscoring the importance of submitting associated soft tissue for histopathologic evaluation when enlarged pericoronal tissue is present.
Source: Cureus
Institution: Government Dental College & Research Institute
Language: English
Subfield: General Dentistry
Field: Dentistry
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7213981031