A case of congenital epulis associated with an impacted supernumerary tooth germ

Abstract

Congenital epulis (CE) is a rare lesion, and CE associated with an impacted tooth is very rare. We encountered a case of CE attached to an impacted supernumerary tooth germ. The patient was a 1.5-year-old boy, and his parents noticed a pedunculated mass on the left anterior palatal gingiva from the time of birth. CE was diagnosed clinically. As the CE grew gradually during follow up, the mass was excised in toto. At surgery, we found CE contiguous with an impacted tooth germ, which we extracted at the same time. A radiographic examination 7 months after surgery revealed that the extracted tooth germ was a supernumerary tooth. The histopathologic diagnosis was fibrous overgrowth. Although the CE was contiguous with the tooth follicle, we found no histological evidence of CE arising from the tooth germ.