Pregnancy Epulis

Bismillah..

Today we learnt about Pregnancy Epulis in Oral Medicine subject by Dr Jumana Karasneh. I bet this is paramount importance of a pregnant lady to discover themselves whenever they come across this finding. Still, you have to meet dr regarding to diagnose this swelling. Fortunately, this is just a soft -tissue swelling of gingiva as it will rupture as soon as she gives birth. So, no worries madam :)

How it looks like?

Third trimester, when it usually appear.This term is specifically used for those who are pregnant. It might happens to men or non-pregnant women or children as well so we described this epulis as Pyogenic Granuloma. It's sound so scientific, isn't? :p

These are both vascular epulis, meaning that there are plenty of blood vessels within that epulis. That is why they looks more reddish than fibrous epulis and they has tendency to bleed.

How we want to manage?

If the epulis do not rupture by itself, dr will do local excision. Frequently, the origin of this lesion is interdental, however it might be from periodontal membrane as well. Dr needs to do complete excision otherwise this lesion might recur. All affected tissue must be removed. In more advanced cases, the adjacent tooth might be extracted in order to secure the elimination of tissue origin.

Dr cannot easily diagnosed  without a proof eventhough it can be a sometimes it can be a confident one. Histological examination is a must in order to confirm the lesion. Blood test for plasma calcium, phophorus and alkaline phophatase should be carried out to exclude hyperparathyroidism.

That's all for today :)