MANDIBULAR OSTEOSARCOMA MISTAKEN FOR PERICORONAL INFECTION A CASE REPORT

Osteosarcoma is relatively rare in the jaws and variable in presentation, thus its recognition may be quite confusing and delay diagnosis and treatment. Also, in contrast to most malignancies, osteosarcoma is usually encountered earlier in life and may clinically resemble features of more common oral entities such as chronic osteomyelitis, fibrous dysplasia, osteoblastic metastatic carcinoma, ossifying subperiosteal hematoma and chondrosarcoma. Hence definitive treatment may be inadvertently delayed, jeopardizing the chance for cure. A case of chondroblastic osteosarcoma of the mandible which was mistakenly treated as a pericoronal infection by a dentist is presented. The treatment instituted was continued for several weeks despite progression of the lesion, after which the patient was referred. This delay made necessary a more radical resection than that which would have been needed had the patient been referred earlier.