title: Primary oral tuberculosis: a report of a case diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: We present a case of primary oral tuberculosis, affecting the maxillary gingiva and causing alveolar bone loss in a 34-year-old Colombian female patient. Definitive diagnosis was facilitated by polymerase chain reaction analysis, a useful modern tool for the diagnosis of infectious diseases. The location and clinical presentation of this lesion is unusual and underlines the importance of considering tuberculosis in the differential diagnosis of oral lesions that affect the gingiva and alveolar bone.
authors.affiliation: Oral Pathology Laboratory, Faculty of Dentistry, Central University of Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Correa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Castillo-Castillo
authors.forename: N G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Nikitakis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000382:microbiology; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005882:Gingival Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014393:Tuberculosis, Oral / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial