The varying clinical presentations of peripheral ossifying fibroma: a report of three cases

purpose: gingival growths are one of the most frequently encountered lesions in the oral cavity. most of these lesions are innocuous, but some do have malignant potential. different lesions with similar clinical presentations make it difficult to arrive at a correct diagnosis. one of the infrequently occurring gingival lesions is peripheral ossifying fibroma (pof). lesions with histological features similar to pof have been given various names, adding to the confusion. we report the varied clinicopathological features of 3 cases of pof, discuss the contentious nomenclature and investigate the possible etiopathogenesis of this disease. case description: three cases of gingival growths (pof) are reported. two of the lesions occurred in the maxillary anterior region, while the third occurred in the mandibular posterior region. two of the cases showed radiographic evidence of bone loss. an excision biopsy was performed in all three cases. conclusion: because the rate of recurrence for peripheral ossifying fibroma is 8% to 20%, close postoperative monitoring is required. it is also necessary to use consistent and specific nomenclature in the literature to avoid confusion and the loss of important data.