A rare case of peripheral ossifying fibroma in an infant

Abstract

Peripheral ossifying fibroma (POF) associated with natal/neonatal teeth is extremely rare. In general, POF occurs as a soft-tissue gingival nodule occurring in young adults. We report an unusual and a rare case in a 5-month-old male child who had two, localized, soft-tissue growth over the mandibular anterior alveolar ridge. History revealed the presence of natal teeth in the same mandibular anterior region, which exfoliated at the age of 2 months. Intraoral periapical radiograph showed soft tissue density with evidence of calcifications that also corroborated with the histopathological finding of masses of mineralized areas. Excision of the lesions followed by histopathological examination proved the final diagnosis of POF. Inspite of being a benign reactive lesion, a high recurrence rate has been reported. Such lesions require long-term follow-up subsequent to excision with histopathological examination due to a high recurrence rate.

Keywords

• calcifications
• infant
• peripheral ossifying fibroma