Focal epithelial hyperplasia arising after delivery of metal-ceramic fixed dental prosthesis

ABSTRACT

Focal epithelial hyperplasia (FEH) is a human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced alteration of the oral mucosa that presents with a clinically distinct appearance. While other HPV-infected lesions such as squamous papilloma, verruca vulgaris, and condyloma acuminatum involve the skin, oral mucosa, and genital mucosa, FEH occurs only in the oral mucosa. The affected oral mucosa exhibits multiple papules and nodules with each papule/nodule being flat-topped or sessile. The affected region resembles the normal color of oral mucosa rather than appearing as a white color since the epithelial surface is not hyperkeratinized. Almost all cases present with multiple sites of occurrence. This rare, benign epithelial proliferation is related to low-risk HPV, especially HPV-13 and -32, and is not transformed into carcinoma. We report a case of FEH that arose on the attached gingiva of an East Asian male adult related to prosthesis without detection of any HPV subtype in HPV DNA chip and sequencing.