Sir, we would like to share with you and your readers an unusual case of a giant calculus mimicking a neoplasm of the maxilla on computed tomography.

An 82-year-old lady presented to her local emergency department with facial injuries which she sustained following a fall at home. Plane radiographs revealed no fractures, but a suspicious radiopacity of her right maxilla was seen. A CT was arranged and the report described an exophytic dense ossification in the right maxilla representing a neoplastic lesion (Figs 1-2). An urgent referral to the Oral & Maxillofacial Unit was made. On clinical examination a giant calculus in the upper right quadrant was identified. The calculus and associated teeth were removed and the patient discharged.

Figure 1
figure 1

Giant calculus

Figure 2
figure 2

Giant calculus

Intraoral examination is important in the assessment of maxillofacial trauma, and in this case may have prevented further unnecessary investigations.