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.
Intraoral examination is important in the assessment of maxillofacial trauma, and in this case may have prevented further unnecessary investigations.
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Wegenast, S., Laugharne, D. Giant calculus. Br Dent J 214, 93 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2013.112
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2013.112