Treatment of fibroma of the gums, lip, and other soft tissues of the oral cavity, as a rule, involves surgical intervention – removal by a laser or radio wave method. However, in some cases, radical therapy can be dispensed with, it depends on the causes of the formation and the possibility of quickly eliminating provoking factors.
To make an accurate diagnosis, it is important to undergo a dental examination, consult a doctor and, if necessary, take a picture of the pathological area. Timely contact with the clinic minimizes the likelihood of complications. In addition, the patient should adhere to preventive measures to prevent the disease and its consequences.
What is a fibroma?
This is a benign neoplasm in the form of a small node on a stalk or a wide base, which consists of fragments of connective tissue. In most cases, it is localized on the mucous membranes of the gums, lips, and palate, on the inside of the cheeks, and a little less often on the tongue. The pathological process is more often encountered by younger schoolchildren and adolescents aged 6-15 years.
The patient is not in pain, at the earliest stage he does not notice the pathology. As the thickening grows, it is easily groped and accidentally injured.
Can a fibroma in the mouth resolve itself, without medical intervention? In most cases, surgical excision of the tumor is required. However, do not worry about the complexity and duration of the operation. In less than an hour, an experienced doctor will eliminate the defect without subsequent complications and a long rehabilitation period. Currently, clinics use laser and radio wave techniques.
Despite the relative harmlessness of fibrous growths, they still need to be treated even in the absence of discomfort. If the seals increase in size and are constantly exposed to trauma, it is highly likely that an infection will enter the wound. In this case, the treatment will be very long, and difficult and will not always lead to positive dynamics. In addition, the lack of therapy sometimes entails the transformation of a neoplasm into a malignant one.
Reasons for education
After conducting numerous studies, scientists have not been able to determine an exhaustive list of factors that provoke the development of pathology. However, some conditions and phenomena are still most common when diagnosing this disease. For example, this is possible with a hereditary predisposition to fibroids on the gums (shown in the photo below), the tongue, the inside of the cheeks, and other parts of the mucous membranes. In this case, the disease develops in childhood in young patients from 1 to 10 years old.
Often in the anamnesis, in the presence of this diagnosis, the fact of regular traumatic exposure is established. It is possible to permanently bite a certain area of soft tissues. Sharp edges of crowns, orthodontic constructions, and prostheses, especially poorly fixed, hard food, can also injure them.
The intake of certain medications is also a provoking factor. Some medicines can cause benign seals in representatives of different age categories, not only in children and adolescents. Drugs, after the use of which fibromatosis may develop:
- Cyclosporine. It is indicated to prevent organ rejection in transplantation.
- Valproate is used by epileptics.
- Verapamil and other calcium channel blockers.
- Estrogens of synthetic origin in oral contraceptives or other hormonal pills.
The culprits for the development of the disease may be inflammatory processes in the oral cavity. These include stomatitis, glossitis, periodontal disease, gingivitis, etc.
The hereditary factor cannot be excluded, however, the risk of formations can be significantly reduced if you follow simple preventive rules:
- do not forget about hygiene;
- carry out regular professional cleaning from dense plaque and tartar;
- protect soft tissues from traumatic effects (solid food, biting), and also prevent sudden
- temperature changes;
- treat dental diseases in a timely manner;
- consult with doctors before taking medications, do not allow self-medication;
visit the dentist for prevention at least once every six months.
Fibromas classification
Pathology is divided into several types according to criteria. This includes the density of a benign neoplasm, the nature of its origin, as well as the severity of clinical manifestations.
Dense fibroma
It has a firm texture. This is due to the fact that the contents are rather rigid connective tissue fibers. They include a small number of cores. Formations of this type are most often found on gingival surfaces and in the sky.
soft fibroma
The fibrous structures are thin and loose, so their clusters are characterized by a high degree of softness. A similar type in most cases is observed on the tongue and the inside of both cheeks. Benign neoplasms of a mixed type, combining the signs of all the varieties listed above, can be found on the sublingual part and on the mucous membranes of the bottom of the oral cavity. For example, it could be:
- Fibrolipoma. Firm to the touch, because it includes fibrous fibers. Eliminated by surgery, laser, and radio waves.
- Fibrohemangioma. As a rule, it is provoked by infectious processes occurring in the child’s body. It is extremely rare in adults. Never degenerates into malignant tumors. Most often treated surgically, in some cases it can resolve on its own.
Fibroma from irritation
This is not a tumor formation in its usual form, but the result of reactive hyperplasia. Chronic pathology is characterized by the development of focal lesions, which are caused by systematic mechanical action and subsequent injury.
Most often, the cause is installed crowns, fillings, and prostheses. In the latter case, the disease is called a prosthetic granuloma. The orthopedic design exerts continuous pressure on the alveolar process, leads to its resorption, shifts forward, and contributes to the formation of seals, to which the inflammatory process joins.
The risk group includes not only patients who have undergone prosthetics, but also persons with untimely cured caries, in adulthood, with foreign objects in the oral cavity (for example, with piercing). Studies have shown that more women than men are prone to such hypertrophic transformations.
Symmetrical fibromas
Doctors diagnose such neoplasms in the area of \u200b\u200bthe location of the third molars in the areas between the gums and the palate. To the touch, the tumor is firm and shaped like a bean.
It should be noted that this type of seal does not apply to true fibromatosis. These are just overgrown tissues in the gingival membranes, accompanied by a scarring process and other changes of a similar nature.
Lobular fibroma
It occurs as a result of reactive hyperplasia with systematic injury to delicate sensitive fibers with prostheses or other orthopedic structures. The main distinguishing feature of such formations is a rough, embossed surface. When probing, tubercles are felt.
Fibrous epulis
This is a dense growth of pinkish tissue that does not cause pain or other discomforts. The edges are often hyperemic and have clear boundaries and irregular shapes. The base is quite wide.
The vestibular part of the gums is usually affected. There are cases of neoplasms in the interdental spaces in the form of a saddle spread to the intraoral surface.
Quite often, a dental unit located in the pathological area has a poorly fitted metal crown part, an extensive carious lesion, or a prosthetic clasp. It is these structures that are the provoking factor in the occurrence of a chronic inflammatory process with the formation of granules, which over time are converted into mature connective fibrous fibers.
In dentistry, there is also angiomatous epulis. They are a brighter shade, somewhat softer to the touch, and bleed. In this case, blood appears not only at those moments when the surfaces are affected mechanically, but regardless of the presence or absence of a traumatic factor. When conducting diagnostic studies in the pathological area, many vascular ramifications are found.
Symptoms
The neoplasm grows and develops rather slowly, so for a long time the patient may not even be aware of its presence in the mouth. The Fibroma of the oral mucosa looks like a hemispherical outgrowth rising above the plane, covered with pinkish tissues. If you press it, pain or other discomfort does not appear. The surface is smooth, there are no irregularities or roughness on it.
The appearance of ulcers with a similar diagnosis is very rare. In such cases, an infection usually joins with the subsequent development of the inflammatory process. There is swelling, redness, erosion, and pain is felt. Soreness persists, even if you do not touch the pathological area.
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If the formation is not injured, it can not change its size for quite a long time and remain in a stable state. If you expose it to constant traumatic effects, there is a high risk of malignant degeneration, which is dangerous for the life and health of the patient.
Diagnosis of fibromas of the upper and lower jaw
The doctor will not prescribe treatment until he is sure that the diagnosis is correct. For this, diagnostic procedures are carried out, the results of which will confirm or refute the fears of physicians.
First, the patient is asked to describe the symptoms. The dentist examines and palpates the neoplasm. However, this is not enough to develop therapeutic tactics, since it is extremely important to determine the depth of tumor growth into soft tissues. For this purpose, an ultrasound examination is performed.
In difficult cases (with ulcers, the development of an inflammatory process in the pathological area of \u200b\u200bthe gums, etc.), a biopsy is indicated. After surgical removal of the tumor, the fragments must be sent for histological analysis.
An examination is necessary not only to establish a diagnosis but also in order to identify the factors that provoked the disease. A full dental examination is carried out, aimed at confirming the presence of inflammation. In addition, one cannot do without radiography, orthopantomogram, and other images in different projections.
If a person has dentures, a consultation with a prosthodontist may be necessary. This is necessary to exclude the likely traumatic effect of artificial elements on the mucous membranes.
Differential Diagnosis
Biopsy remains one of the most informative methods for distinguishing fibroma from other benign neoplasms. The study is indicated for suspected papilloma, lipoma, epulis with different structures, neurofibroma, cyst, squamous cell carcinoma, wart, etc.
If the growth is localized on the tongue or sublingual part, it is extremely important to differentiate it from all existing seals. Timely diagnostic measures make it possible to detect cancer at the earliest stages and conduct high-quality therapy with a short recovery period. Oral fibroma treatment
Surgical intervention remains the most effective and most common therapeutic method. The seal is excised using a laser or radio waves. This procedure takes about half an hour. If the neoplasm is very large, after its removal, the wound is covered with a flap, which is formed by the doctor from the surrounding tissues.
When the pathology is caused by taking certain drugs, they should be completely excluded and replaced with alternative ones with similar properties. After discontinuation of drugs in such cases, the appearance of the mucous membranes is often restored without assistance, and the likelihood of relapse approaches zero. However, this does not apply to situations where the disease is running.
Without surgery, you can do with the traumatic effect of orthopedic structures. For example, when a crown, filling, or prosthesis presses on the tissue. Elimination of the provoking factor often leads to a decrease or complete disappearance of a benign formation. Most likely, it will be necessary to dismantle the old structures and replace them with new ones.
On the Internet, you can find stories of healing with home remedies. It is worth remembering that the disease is not treated with the help of folk recipes. Herbal decoctions and infusions, and other compounds are used only as an auxiliary element of complex therapy.
Final Thought on Fibroma of the Gums
Mucous fibromas on the inside of the cheeks, gums, lips, and tongue grow very slowly and do not cause much discomfort. They do not pose a danger to the patient, but the problem needs to be fixed as soon as possible. The fact is that a benign seal in the oral cavity with a regular injury can degenerate into a malignant one, and the oncological process requires serious therapy and is extremely dangerous for life and health.
It is impossible to get rid of the disease by folk methods. It is important to undergo high-quality dental diagnostics and consult with specialists. In most cases, surgical excision is indicated, but with small growths, the absence of severe symptoms, and the elimination of provoking factors, there is a possibility of rapid tissue repair without external influence.
Do not worry if the doctor has decided on the operation. In modern clinics, laser or radio wave removal is practiced on an outpatient basis. These are the most gentle and highly effective methods. An extremely important point in the positive prognosis of the treatment of fibroids of the teeth is an early visit to the doctor and the correct excision by an experienced physician.