Pulmonary tuberculosis with oral involvement presenting as persistent non-healing post-extraction lesions: a case report
- 1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kyung Hee University Dental Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University College of Dentistry Seoul Korea
- 2Department of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong Seoul Korea
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) of the oral cavity is uncommon and often presents with nonspecific clinical features, which may delay diagnosis. Oral lesions may mimic malignancy, chronic inflammatory conditions, or non-healing extraction wounds, making histopathologic evaluation essential in persistent cases. We report a case of oral TB presenting as persistent non-healing post-extraction lesions in a 74-year-old male. The patient presented with pain, gingival swelling, and pus discharge after extraction of multiple mandibular teeth. Intraoral examination revealed multifocal ulcerative lesions involving the left mandibular posterior gingiva and right palatal mucosa. Histopathologic examination demonstrated chronic granulomatous inflammation with acid-fast bacilli positivity, and real-time polymerase chain reaction performed on the oral tissue specimen detected Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The Xpert MTB/RIF assay performed on a sputum specimen also detected M. tuberculosis. Subsequent pulmonary evaluation confirmed active pulmonary TB, and the patient was clinically diagnosed with pulmonary TB with oral involvement. Anti-TB therapy was initiated, and the oral lesions gradually resolved during follow-up, with no recurrence observed during approximately 1 year of follow-up. This case highlights that persistent post-extraction oral lesions unresponsive to conventional treatment should prompt timely biopsy to establish a definitive diagnosis, while concomitant respiratory or constitutional symptoms should also warrant appropriate pulmonary evaluation.
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BibTeX
@article{lee2026pulmonary,
title = {{Pulmonary tuberculosis with oral involvement presenting as persistent non-healing post-extraction lesions: a case report}},
author = {Young-kee Lee and Sae Rom Kim and Sung-ok Hong and Mu-hang Lee and Soyoung Park and Jinwoong Hwang and Taeho Kim and Jiyeong Park and Yu-jin Jee},
journal = {Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.5125/jkaoms.2026.52.5.270},
url = {https://doi.org/10.5125/jkaoms.2026.52.5.270},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Pulmonary tuberculosis with oral involvement presenting as persistent non-healing post-extraction lesions: a case report
AU - Young-kee Lee
AU - Sae Rom Kim
AU - Sung-ok Hong
AU - Mu-hang Lee
AU - Soyoung Park
AU - Jinwoong Hwang
AU - Taeho Kim
AU - Jiyeong Park
AU - Yu-jin Jee
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/31
JO - Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
DO - 10.5125/jkaoms.2026.52.5.270
UR - https://doi.org/10.5125/jkaoms.2026.52.5.270
AB - Tuberculosis (TB) of the oral cavity is uncommon and often presents with nonspecific clinical features, which may delay diagnosis. Oral lesions may mimic malignancy, chronic inflammatory conditions, or non-healing extraction wounds, making histopathologic evaluation essential in persistent cases. We report a case of oral TB presenting as persistent non-healing post-extraction lesions in a 74-year-old male. The patient presented with pain, gingival swelling, and pus discharge after extraction of multiple mandibular teeth. Intraoral examination revealed multifocal ulcerative lesions involving the left mandibular posterior gingiva and right palatal mucosa. Histopathologic examination demonstrated chronic granulomatous inflammation with acid-fast bacilli positivity, and real-time polymerase chain reaction performed on the oral tissue specimen detected Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The Xpert MTB/RIF assay performed on a sputum specimen also detected M. tuberculosis. Subsequent pulmonary evaluation confirmed active pulmonary TB, and the patient was clinically diagnosed with pulmonary TB with oral involvement. Anti-TB therapy was initiated, and the oral lesions gradually resolved during follow-up, with no recurrence observed during approximately 1 year of follow-up. This case highlights that persistent post-extraction oral lesions unresponsive to conventional treatment should prompt timely biopsy to establish a definitive diagnosis, while concomitant respiratory or constitutional symptoms should also warrant appropriate pulmonary evaluation.
SN - 2234-7550
SN - 2234-5930
ER -