Ameloblastoma is an odontogenic tumour with variable histological patterns and clinical characteristics [1]. Cystic lesions that occur in the jaw bones and been classified in distinct ways according to different bases, e.g., embryologic origin, etiology, clinical and morphological features. A true or epithelial cyst is defined as a cavity which is entirely or partially bordered by an epithelium lining containing fluid or semi-fluid material is referred to as a true or epithelial cyst. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the epithelial cysts in jaw into odontogenic and non-odontogenic cysts [2,3]. The relative frequency of mandible to maxilla is reported to be varying from 80 – 20% to 99 –1%. In the mandible majority of ameloblastomas are found in the molar ramus region. The worldwide occurrence of ameloblastoma is 0.5 cases per million people per year [4]. The association of ameloblastoma with odontoma is well established and accepted, but the consensus group did not find it justified to separate them as a unit, they reappear as ameloblastomas [5].

The most widely used classification, based on clinical, radiological and morphological criteria divided ameloblastoma into the following categories [6], Solid ameloblastoma, Unicystic ameloblastoma, Desmoplastic ameloblastoma, Peripheral ameloblastoma, Malignant ameloblastoma.

Although the WHO classification offered useful guidelines for management, there is a lack of accurate terminology that restricts its diagnostic use ⁵ A more current classification of odontogenic tumors, including ameloblastoma, has recently been proposed [6]. Thus, the word 'multicystic' adds little meaning except misperception to the word solid multicystic ameloblastoma. Therefore, traditional lesions should merely be called conventional ameloblastoma' and the word solid/ multicystic should be eliminated. In addition, the preponderance of plexiform ameloblastoma in the posterior maxilla is not a justification for distinguishing it as different entity since it is still a recognizable site of incidence for traditional ameloblastoma, and can therefore be regarded as a histological category of traditional ameloblastoma. It was also suggested that the distinctive radiographic characteristics of demoplastic ameloblastoma, distinct from other histological types / subtypes, should be a feature of demoplasia [7] As such, desmoplastic ameloblastoma should clearly be noted for its distinct radiographic and clinical appearance.

The most prevalent ameloblastoma is the solid / multicystic / conventional form, which accounts for around 91 percent of all cases of ameloblastoma. It's growing slowly and it's taking a benign path. Histologically, solid / multicystic / conventional ameloblastoma has two separate histological patterns: follicular and plexiform. The follicular type shows proliferating epithelial odontogenic cells organized in islands, while the plexiform type shows epithelial cells arranged in continuous anastomosing row. It is not rare for an ameloblastoma to exhibit all histological trends. In addition to these two histological forms, cystic, granular, acanthomatous, spindle cell, basal cell, clear cell and other microscopic subtypes have been identified.Unicystic ameloblastoma is the second most prevalent ameloblastoma and accounts for approximately 5–15 percent of all cases [8]. It is most often found in younger patients with an average age of 26.1 years, and its primary site is the posterior mandible, often present as an asymptomatic swelling [9].

The bulk of unicystic ameloblastomas resemble dental cysts due to their involvement with an unbroken tooth. The WHO classification [10], and the more recent recommendations ⁷ recognize two major histopathological forms of luminal and mural unicystic ameloblastoma. The luminal version reveals a cystic pattern lined with an ameloblastomatous epithelium that protrudes into the lumen as plexiform proliferations that appear like an intraluminal subtype. The wall variant reveals either the follicular or the plexiform configuration of the epithelial ameloblastomatous cells within the cystic wall. It is not rare for both variants to be found in the same ameloblastoma lesion.

The study was aimed to find such differences in distribution using different demographic parameters of this tumor in Northern Pakistani population and to compare the findings of this study with those available in similar literature.