Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2024 Jan-Feb;28(1):132-137.
doi: 10.4103/jisp.jisp_134_23. Epub 2024 Jun 4.

Gingiva as the primary site of extrapulmonary tuberculosis: A rare case report with brief review of literature

Nakkeeran Adhithya  1 , Srinivasan Poovan Kirubanidhi Kennedy Babu  1 , Grace Tara Paul  1 , Kadathanadan Vachali Soorya  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Gingiva as the primary site of extrapulmonary tuberculosis: A rare case report with brief review of literature

Nakkeeran Adhithya et al. J Indian Soc Periodontol. 2024 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Multiple strains of Mycobacteria cause tuberculosis (TB), a chronic, specific infectious granulomatous disease. It mainly occurs with pulmonary involvement when compared to extrapulmonary involvement. Primary oral occurrence is uncommon and oral lesions are usually secondary to pulmonary involvement. When there are no active pulmonary clinical manifestations of TB, the diagnosis of the very rare entity of primary gingival TB poses a great challenge to clinicians. In this case report, we discuss a case of primary gingival TB in a 24-year-old lactating mother. This article briefs the onset and course of the lesion during pregnancy and postpartum, elaborates the pathway to diagnosis, various investigations performed and the regimen of antitubercular therapy for 6 months, followed by complete resolution of the lesion without recurrence. This report also describes the significance of considering TB as a differential diagnosis in oral lesions and the various diagnostic methods available. It also emphasizes the sole importance of histopathology in the early detection of the lesion and its management.

Keywords: Extrapulmonary tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; gingival tuberculosis; oral tuberculosis; primary gingival tuberculosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preoperative view (Buccal aspect)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Preoperative view (Palatal aspect)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Preoperative view (Palatal aspect) showing friable soft lesion getting detached from underlying tissues
Figure 4
Figure 4
Preoperative intraoral periapical radiographic view of the region with lesion
Figure 5
Figure 5
Preoperative view (Buccal aspect)- After Phase I periodontal therapy
Figure 6
Figure 6
Immediate postoperative view
Figure 7
Figure 7
Immediate postoperative view - The excised mass
Figure 8
Figure 8
Postoperative view, 2 weeks
Figure 9
Figure 9
Photomicrograph (H and E, x40) of the lesion showing multiple Langhans type giant cells with peripherally positioned nuclei (black arrows), epitheliod type cells (yellow arrows) and numerous chronic inflammatory cells (red arrows)
Figure 10
Figure 10
Photomicrograph (H and E, x40) showing areas of necrosis (red arrows)
Figure 11
Figure 11
Radiographic view - Chest
Figure 12
Figure 12
Postoperative views after 2 weeks of prophylactic antitubercular therapy - (a) Buccal view & (b) Palatal view
Figure 13
Figure 13
Postoperative views after 6 months of prophylactic antitubercular therapy - (a) Buccal view & (b) Palatal view
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. World Health Organization. Global Tuberculosis Report 2016. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2016.
    1. Eng HL, Lu SY, Yang CH, Chen WJ. Oral tuberculosis. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 1996;81:415–20. - PubMed
    1. de Aguiar MC, Arrais MJ, Mato MJ, de Araújo VC. Tuberculosis of the oral cavity: A case report. Quintessence Int. 1997;28:745–7. - PubMed
    1. Dimitrakopoulos I, Zouloumis L, Lazaridis N, Karakasis D, Trigonidis G, Sichletidis L. Primary tuberculosis of the oral cavity. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol. 1991;72:712–5. - PubMed
    1. Gelli V, Mutalik SS, Mutalik VS, Manyam R. Primary gingival tuberculosis diagnosis: A difficult endeavor. J Contemp Dent Pract. 2013;14:137–9. - PubMed

Publication types