Plasma cell gingivitis: A unique gingival lesion of unknown etiology

Gingival overgrowth is a common feature of gingival diseases, and it represents an exuberant response of the tissues to a variety of systemic and local factors. Plasma cell gingivitis (PCG), an uncommon, non-malignant lesion, is often characterized by an off ending allergen which causes a dense infi ltration of plasma cells in connective tissue. Soft tissue biopsy of affected and normal tissues is necessary for confi rmatory diagnosis.The significance of this lesion is that it may cause severe gingival infl ammation, discomfort, and bleeding with minimal trauma and may resemble more serious conditions. Here is a case of a 34-year-old female patient who presented with a solitary diff use gingival enlargement in mandibular anterior region. Overgrowth was multilobular, erythematous smooth and glossy in appearance, semicircular, non-tender with a sessile base which first gave the impression of pyogenic granuloma. The overgrowth was surgically excised and subjected to a histopathological examination that revealed a predominant plasma cell infi ltrate admixed with few neutrophils, lymphocytes, and eosinophil suggestive of PCG. The patient has been kept on follow-up and post-operatively there has been no recurrence of the lesion until date