Open AccessOral tuberculosis - Current concepts
Author(s) -
Supriya Sharma,
Jaya Bajpai,
Pankaj Pathak,
Akshyaya Pradhan,
Priyanka Singh,
Surya Kant
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of family medicine and primary care
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2278-7135
pISSN - 2249-4863
DOI - 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_97_19
Subject(s) - medicine , tuberculosis , disease , differential diagnosis , oral cavity , infectious disease (medical specialty) , intensive care medicine , mandible (arthropod mouthpart) , surgery , dermatology , dentistry , pathology , botany , biology , genus
Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infectious disease that can affect various parts of the body including the oral cavity. It primarily affects the lungs. TB bacilli can spread hematogenously to different parts of the body and this also involves maxilla or mandible. Although oral lesions are infrequent, they are crucial for the early diagnosis and interception of primary TB. Intercepting the disease early will limit the morbidity and mortality of the patients. It becomes the responsibility of the dentist to include TB in the differential diagnosis of suspicious oral lesions to prevent delay in the treatment of the disease. It would not be an exaggeration if the dental identification of the TB lesions has the potential of serving as a significant aid in the first line of control for this hazardous and often fatal disease. This article will also emphasize the advancing role of oral pathologists in making the final diagnosis of this dreaded disease.