Localized juvenile spongiotic gingival hyperplasia

Localized juvenile spongiotic gingival hyperplasia (LJSGH) is a poorly understood entity and is probably a misnomer too. Although this lesion is thought to be predominantly found in young children, a significant number of cases have also been reported in adults. A 41-year-old female patient presented with an erythematous, velvety-appearing gingival mass in the mandibular anterior region. The lesion was recurrent in nature, although it was asymptomatic. A diagnosis of LJSGH was made after correlating the clinical and histopathological features. A literature search revealed that a large number of cases have been reported in adults, some as old as 87 years old. There seems to be no gender predilection, and the lesion is frequently noticed in relation to maxillary anterior gingiva. Recurrence is a characteristic feature of this lesion, although its etiology and pathogenesis are poorly understood till date. Since it has a unique behavior in terms of high recurrences, dentists and periodontists need to be made aware about spongiotic gingival hyperplasia since the lesion may be mistaken for common reactive lesions.