An unusual epithelial neoplasm of gingiva resembling the keratoacanthoma

An unusual, tumour-like mass protruding from labial and palatal gingivae and surrounding the unerupted canine in a 12-year-old child is described. Clinically, the lesion was felt to be aggressive but histologically, the most likely diagnosis was keratoacanthoma, probably of the nodulovegetating type. Following excision of the mass, healing has been uneventful. Whether or not the histological diagnosis of keratoacanthoma is accepted, rather than an unusual odontogenic neoplasm, this case illustrates the existence of an entity comprising well-differentiated islands and cysts of squamous epithelium with a rapid growth pattern.