Peripheral ossifying fibroma: A case report.

Peripheral ossifying fibroma (POF) is a reactive lesion that originates in the gingiva. Morphological similarity to other epulides and similar nomenclature to neoplastic tumors give rise to obvious problems both at the stage of diagnosis and treatment of POF. Although POF is one of the less common gingival lesions, it accounts for up to 2% of all oral lesions, which means that most general dentists will encounter POF in their practice. This paper aims to present the case of a 56-year-old woman diagnosed with POF. In the described case, POF most likely resulted from chronic periodontal irritation due to the presence of prosthetic crowns. The applied treatment in the form of total excision of POF, removal of irritants and gingivoplasty brought the expected therapeutic effect, i.e. no recurrence in the period of the hitherto follow-up. Terminological difficulties, the basics of differentiating typical gingival tumors, therapeutic options with suggested management of POF, and recurrence rate with the follow-up scheme were discussed. Despite the reactive nature of POF, this lesion recurs up to 20% and can transform to giant POF. For this reason, POF should not be underestimated, and proper diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up are critical to the success of therapy.