Revisiting the History of Odontoma, with Special Reference to Its Original Illustration

Abstract

Background: Practically every facet of the most common odontogenic tumor, odontoma, has been covered by an extensive volume of literature. However, uncertainty about its precise history has persisted.

Materials and methods: The historical evolution of odontoma was traced with reference to the original illustrations that accompanied European and American reports published at the beginning of the 19th century and also at the turn of the century.

Results: The prevailing views regarding the first description of odontoma by Oudet of Paris in 1809 and the original designation "odontome" by Broca of Paris in 1867 are not entirely accurate. Before Broca's suggested term, "exostose dentaire" (dental exostosis) and "tumeur dentaire" (dental tumor) proposed by Oudet and Forget of Paris, respectively, were popular terms adopted in France, while in Briatin the terms "warty tooth" and "supernumerary teeth" proposed by Salter and Tomes of London, respectively, were widely coined. The original illustrations of complex odontoma were published by Wedl of Vienna in 1851, and in 1862 Tomes published the first drawing of compound odontoma denticles. Before the advent of diagnostic radiography in the early 1900s, spontaneous exposure or eruption of odontoma followed by secondary infection was very common. In 1887-1888, Bland Sutton of London criticized Broca's monumental research and formulated the first modern classification which, in essence, remains valid today. At that time, large osteomas of the maxilla were inappropriately classified as odontomas by many pathologists because of Bland Sutton's influential view. Interestingly, the first radiographic evidence of odontoma was published by the American oral surgeon Gilmer in 1899.

Conclusion: In view of their fundamental achievements, the names of Wedl, Salter, Broca and Bland Sutton have been closely associated with the true history of odontoma.

Keywords: Conceptual controversy; Historical review; Odontoma; Original illustration.

Fig. 1

Oudet’s first case described by Saint-Hilaire [9] A in 1824 and by Salter [33] in 1870 (B) C Oudet’s second case demonstrated by Broca [4] in 1867 (available through the public domain)

Fig. 2

Wedl’s complex odontoma, which was excised by Jarisch of Vienna. A, B Gross and microscopic appearance described by Wedl [11] in 1851 C Microscopic image depicted by Heider and Wedl [46] in 1869 D Fine macroscopic drawings provided by Metnitz [47] in 1891 (available through the public domain)

Fig. 3

Tomes’s compound odontomas described in 1862 [20] A and in 1863 [21] (B) The latter case was operated on by Mathias of India (available through the public domain) C The largest compound odontoma containing more than 700 denticles [53] (reproduced with permission of the Japanese Society of Otorhinolaryngology)

Fig. 4

Erupted (exposed) odontoma in situ. A Forget’s case in 1859 [15] B Fergusson’s case in 1859 [19] C Uskoff’s odontoma involving the left half of the mandible in a 24-year-old man published in 1881 [67] (available through the public domain)

Fig. 5

The first radiographic demonstration of compound odontoma by Gilmer [77] in 1899. Inset showing 78 denticles (available through the public domain)

Fig. 6

Very large osteomas of the maxilla categorized as odontomas. A, B Hilton’s case in 1836 [85] C, D Michon’s case in 1850 [86] and its microscopic feature provided by Lebert [87] in 1857 E, F Duka’s case in 1866 [88] and its microscopic image demonstrated by De Morgan et al. [88]  G Bland Sutton’s case in 1901 [89, 90] (available through the public domain)

Fig. 7

A Fauchard’s small stony growth in 1728 [95] B Bordenave’s large exostosis in 1774 [97] (available through the public domain)

Fig. 8

A Blair’s supernumerary teeth in 1912 [90]. An enormous number of teeth have been repeatedly removed from a 15-year-old boy B Miller’s symmetrical odontoma in 1913 [98]. A 2-year-old girl had intraosseous widely scattered immature teeth in the bilateral maxilla (available through the public domain)