Gingival Fibromatosis with Significant De Novo Formation of Fibrotic Tissue and a High Rate of Recurrence

Patient: Female, 11 Final Diagnosis: Hereditary gingival fibromatosis Symptoms: Gingival overgrowth Medication: — Clinical Procedure: Surgery Specialty: Dentistry OBJECTIVE: Rare disease BACKGROUND: Hereditary gingival fibromatosis is characterized by slowly progressive enlargement of the gingiva that can present as an isolated condition or a part of various syndromes. CASE REPORT: An 11-year-old female reported with a gingival lesion that caused masticatory problems and poor oral hygiene. Periodontal examination revealed a dense tissue covering 30% of her teeth crowns within both jaws. Panoramic x-ray showed a normal bone height and teeth positioning. The patient did not use any medications, but a similar condition was also present in other family members. The patient was diagnosed with hereditary gingival fibromatosis. Surgery was carried out to remove excess of gingival tissue. Post-surgical healing was uneventful, but four weeks after the first surgery, the condition recurred amounting to 45% of the initial tissue volume presenting in the mandible, and 25% in the maxilla. Two months later, no significant growth was noted in the mandible, while in the maxilla, growth increased to 40% of the pre-operative state. Analysis by polarized microscope showed a significant increase of thin fibrotic fibrils that contributed 80% of the total pool of collagen fibrils in the patient’s gingiva, but only 25% in healthy gingiva. The patient was receiving outpatient care for follow-up every three months and surgical intervention had not been planned as long as her periodontal health would not be compromised. CONCLUSIONS: It is currently not clear whether the extent of the fibrosis had a mechanistic association with the ratio of gingival tissue re-growth in our case study. Further studies are needed to explain this association and improve the management of this condition.