Background: Gingival overgrowth refers to an increase in the size of the gingival tissue. The etiology varies, and is often a multi-factor issue; what may contribute to gingival enlargement are aspects, such as disease, local and systemic conditions and idiopathic factors. The aim of the present study is to analyze and to correlate the clinical, epidemiological, imaging and histopathological (HP) features of gingival overgrowth in northeastern Romanian population.
Patients, materials and methods: We conducted a clinical, imaging, and pathological study on 98 patients with gingival overgrowth, who underwent a surgical intervention for a gingival biopsy in the Office of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, "Prof. Dr. Nicolae Oblu" Emergency Clinical Hospital, Iaşi, Romania, during a 14-month period (January 1, 2018 to February 28, 2019). All patients with localized gingival overgrowth had clinical and imaging investigations done and then were referred to an oral and maxillofacial facility. A surgeon performed the excision of the gingival overgrowth and then sent the surgical specimens to the Laboratory of Pathology for HP examination.
Results: Local inflammation was found responsible for the gingival overgrowth in most of the cases, with the number of females outnumbering that of the males. A very good correlation was found between clinical and HP diagnosis when epithelial hyperplasia, peripheral giant cell granuloma and pyogenic granuloma were involved and a moderate one when fibrous hyperplasia was involved.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that the occurrence of gingival overgrowth can have many causes, which highlights the importance of clinical pathology in assisting practitioners with making a better diagnosis.