Tuberculosis of the mandible in a child

Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a cause of mandibular osteomyelitis in a young woman: a case report

Background

Tuberculosis is considered an emerging disease worldwide; in the last 10 years, its incidence has increased to more than 9.6 million cases of active tuberculosis. In 2014, it resulted in 1.5 million patient deaths. However, oral presentation with bone involvement occurs in less than 3% of all reported cases and rarely arouses clinical suspicion on initial presentation.

Case presentation

A 15-year-old Mexican girl who had a previous diagnosis of neurofibromatosis presented to our hospital with pain and swelling in the region of the left mandibular body since November 2011. A clinical examination revealed pain in the mandibular region, a mass of soft consistency that seemed to involve bone, and a fistula with discharge of intraoral purulent material. Additionally, tachycardia and hyperthermia were observed. The left submental and submandibular regions had a 12-cm-diameter swelling, which was well-delineated and nonerythematous. The final diagnosis was established by real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Conclusions

The final diagnosis of rare cases of tuberculous osteomyelitis in the jaw can be established by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the lesion. Simple and fast complementary diagnosis by real-time polymerase chain reaction is a fundamental approach to establishing early and effective pharmacological and surgical treatment.

Oral tuberculosis: unusual radiographic findings

Oral tuberculosis and its radiographic findings are not commonly encountered in an oral and maxillofacial radiology practice. Literature has occasional mention of the radiographic findings of oral tuberculosis, which are still ambiguous. When affected, it is manifested majorly in the oral mucosa and rarely in the jaw bones. Here, we report certain unusual radiographic findings of oral tuberculosis which have been rarely mentioned in the literature. Four illustrative cases describe bony resorption, condylar resorption, resorption of the inferior border of the mandible and rarefaction of the alveolar bone as radiographic findings of oral tuberculosis. Follow up of the first case demonstrated regeneration of the condylar head after anti-Kochs therapy was completed, a hitherto unreported phenomenon. The importance of including tuberculosis in the differential diagnosis of some of the unusual radiographic manifestations is emphasized.

Oral tuberculosis

Although rare, doctors and dentists should be aware of the possible occurrence of oral lesions of tuberculosis and consider them in the differential diagnosis of suspicious oral ulcers.

Tuberculous osteomyelitis of the mandible: a case report

Osteomyelitis of jaws caused by infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is uncommon, especially in children. We present a case of tuberculous osteomyelitis in a young child. Its clinical presentation, with features similar to a dento-alveolar abscess, underline the importance of considering it in the differential diagnosis of jaw lesions. We discuss of the diagnostic techniques, management and preventive measures, and stress the importance of history taking during clinical examination.