Abstract
Well-demarcated tumorous lesions are often observed in the oral cavity. However, these are commonly found in adults and rarely in infants except in cases of congenital epulis. Such lesions arise on the gingiva, buccal mucosa, tounge, lips and palate, most of which are inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia while the true fibroma is rare.
This report is concerned with a case of fibrous hyperplasia which was observed in a 9-old male child. A pedunculated, firm mass was noted on the area of palatal mucosa behind the upper left deciduous central incisor. When he was 11 months old, it was surgically excised.
Histopathologically, there were a few considerably cellular foci of plump fibroblasts which resembled fibromatous growth, but for the most part, the lesion consisted of an excessive bulk of collagen fibers interspersed with a number of small blood vessels and inflammatory cell infiltration. The lesion was covered by parakeratinized stratified squamous epithelium. The histopathological diagnosis was therefore fibrous hyperplasia. Hyperplastic growth of the fibrous element in this lesion was attributed to an inflammatory process resulting from chronic irritation.
In general, hyperplasia of the fibrous element may arise from the periodontal membrane, including that of the supernumerary teeth. Two impacted supernumerary teeth in the maxillary incisal region in the present case, however, were thought to be unrelated to the fibrous hyperplasia of the palate.
