GINGIVAL
HYPERPLASIA
A large percentage of boxers
have gingival hyperplasia which gets worse with increasing age.
It is a familial condition in the boxer breed. There have been
many nomenclature changes recently with regard to this condition
because of the relatively recent specialty of Veterinary Dentistry.
Another name for this condition
is gingival epulis. It is described as a fibrous nodular proliferative
hyperplasia of the gingiva of older dogs, particularly boxers.
The lesion looks like multiple tumors and has been classified
by some as a precancerous lesion. The epulides (plural) are frequently
very hard and fibrous and occasionally calcified (like yours).
Rarely malignant, these have a tendency to recur. Histopathologically
these are (or once were) classified as one of three lesions.
1. Fibromatous
epulis (gingival hyperplasia) - firm solid lesions,
single or multiple, non-invasive, may recur following surgical
excision,
2.
Ossifying epulis - identical to fibromatous except
that it contains osteoid, cementum or dentin (bony type or tooth
type material, hence calcified),
3.
Acanthomatous epulis - appears the same outwardly,
but invades the underlying bone.
Only this last one is potentially
malignant, and even this one does not metastasize (spread to other
organs) but is very locally invasive.