Chondroid metaplasia in inflamed pulp tissue: a case report.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present report is to report an unusual case of chondroid metaplasia of the dental pulp. STUDY DESIGN: A white 45-year-old female patient appeared with signs and symptoms of an irreversible pulpitis on an upper left decayed third molar. After extraction, the tooth was fixed, demineralized, and processed for light microscopy. RESULTS: Pulp tissue was replaced at one of the pulp horns by a colliquative necrosis surrounded by neutrophil leucocytes and congested blood vessels. Serial sections demonstrated a complete opening of the decayed tooth to the oral environment, and an area of chondroid metaplasia of the pulp was evident. Chondroid tissue was surrounded by a dense concentration of chronic inflammation cells. CONCLUSIONS: According to the best knowledge of the authors, this is possibly the first report of an occurrence of chondroid metaplasia in the dental pulp. This metaplasia could be the result of an attempt at tissue repair by the pulp tissue injured by the carious lesion. The pathologic changes in the dental pulp could have activated some of the mechanisms that have been described in other tissues, producing the formation of chondroid tissue. Pulp tissue may adapt to changed environmental stimuli by a deviation from normal cell differentiation.