Oral manifestations of tuberculosis

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is still among the most life-threatening infectious diseases, resulting in high mortality in adults. A significant proportion of patients (15-25%) exist in whom the active TB infection is manifested in an extrapulmonary site. Healthcare workers, including dentists, are at the frontline and can make an important contribution to the control of this infectious epidemic. Oral TB has been considered to account for 0.1-5% of all TB infections. Nowadays, oral manifestations of TB are re-appearing alongside many forgotten extrapulmonary infections as a consequence of the outbreak and emergence of drug-resistant TB and of the emergence of acquired immune-deficiency syndrome.

Keywords

• Drug-resistant
• extrapulmonary
• tuberculosis