2011 Volume 49 Issue 1 Pages 36-40
Irritation fibroma is an overgrowth of submucosal tissue caused by prolonged local irritation from teeth or dental prostheses. It is extremely rare during the first decade of life and usually occurs in adult women.We encountered a one-year-11-month-old boy who had an overgrowth of palatal gingival tissue,subsequently diagnosed as irritation fibroma.A good prognosis was obtained after the removal of the fibroma with Er : YAG laser. We used Erwin AdvErL, (Morita MGF) as the laser apparatus, and the irradiation condition was 100 mJ, 10 pps or 20 pps performed with either a cone- or brush- shaped irradiation tip. The boy was cooperative throughout the surgical procedure and did not complain of any discomfort after the operation. The definitive diagnosis of irritation fibroma was provided after pathological examination, and gingival stimulation from thumb sucking was thought to be the cause of the progression of the lesion.These results suggest that the Er : YAG laser is useful for minor surgery in pediatric dentistry.
