The "floating teeth" radiographic appearance occurs when alveolar bone around the teeth is destroyed, making the teeth appear suspended. This feature is typical in conditions like Langerhans cell histiocytosis, osteomyelitis of the jaw, and central giant cell granuloma due to bone resorption. However, cherubism primarily involves bilateral multilocular radiolucencies in the jaw without actual tooth loosening or alveolar bone destruction that creates a floating teeth appearance. Instead, cherubism causes expansion of the jaw bones without the typical isolated alveolar bone loss seen in the other conditions.

Reference: Cawson's Essentials of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine, 8th Edition.