Dental structures in benign ovarian cystic teratomas (dermoid cysts). A study of ten cases with a review of the literature.

Tooth-forming ovarian teratomas provide a unique opportunity to observe the effect(s) of the tumor environment on developing dental structures. Histologic examination of two such teratomas showed essentially normal formation of dental structures in one and pronouncedly aberrant morphodifferentiation of dental tissues in the other. The macroscopic examination of a total of twenty-five teeth from eight additional teratomas showed most teeth to have premolar or molar forms. Most teeth were not distinctly deciduous or permanent but had intermediate shapes. The teeth within a tumor tended not to form normal morphologic sequences. It is concluded that dental structures in ovarian teratomas are products of normal genetic/epigenetic events modified to a greater or lesser degree by unknown factors in the tumor environment.