Radiological bone changes produced by intraoral squamous carcinomata involving the lower alveolus

Forty-eight per cent of patients with clinical involvement of the lower alveolus by an intraoral squamous carcinoma showed radiological evidence of bone involvement. This was usually an irregular invasive bone defect, but a smooth pressure erosion is also common. 'Floating teeth', displaced bony fragments, pathological fractures, and rarely an expanded inferior canal are less common radiological signs.