Orofacial tuberculosis: Clinical manifestations, diagnosis and management

Orofacial tuberculosis (TB) is an uncommon form of extrapulmonary TB and is nonspecific in its clinical presentation. It can be misdiagnosed especially when oral lesions are present before systemic symptoms become apparent. Doctors especially attending dentist who generally is the first among clinicians to come across such pathological entity should be aware of the orofacial lesions of TB and consider them in the differential diagnosis of suspicious oral lesions to ensure early diagnosis of TB and its treatment. In this review, we have discussed in detail the clinical presentation of various forms of orofacial TB, diagnosis, and management of patients. Also, an update is provided about recent anti-TB drug development.