Open AccessPrimary gingival tuberculosis: A rare clinical entity
Author(s) -
Geeti Gupta,
BP Khattak,
Vipin Agrawal
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
contemporary clinical dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.289
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 0976-237X
pISSN - 0976-2361
DOI - 10.4103/0976-237x.79313
Subject(s) - medicine , tuberculosis , gingival enlargement , differential diagnosis , mycobacterium tuberculosis , primary tuberculosis , disease , pathology , granulomatous disease , lesion , incidence (geometry) , histopathological examination , rare disease , dermatology , optics , physics
Tuberculosis is a specific granulomatous infectious disease and a major cause of death in developing countries. Primary gingival tuberculosis is extremely rare and forgotten entity. Oral lesions usually appear as secondary to primary tuberculosis infection elsewhere. The lesion may take the form of nodules, ulcers, or elevated fissures. We report a case of primary tuberculosis of gingiva, manifesting as gingival enlargement with ulceration and discharge. Diagnosis was based on histopathologic examination, complete blood count, chest X-ray, and immunologic investigations with detection of antibodies against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. With the recent increase in the incidence of tuberculosis, this case report also emphasizes the need for clinicians to be aware of this possibility, consider tuberculosis in the differential diagnosis of gingival enlargement, and thus, play a role in the early detection of this disease.