Aggressive growth and neoplastic potential of dentigerous cysts with particular reference to central mucoepidermoid carcinoma

Epidermoid carcinoma and mucoepidermoid carcinoma that arise centrally within the jaws are often associated with dental cysts. Central mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the jaws is rare, and usually presents in the fourth to eighth decades; we know of only 7 cases that have been described in children younger than 16. Here we describe a central mucoepidermoid carcinoma in an 8-year-old girl that arose from a dentigerous cyst associated with an unerupted mandibular molar.