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Gingival growths or masses can be hyperplastic, benign odontogenic tumours or neoplastic tumours. It is impossible to tell just from looking at the mass what it is, so an incisional biopsy and X-ray of the region should always be done before removal so the surgeon knows that they are dealing with and the owner knows the prognosis. POF’s originate in the periodontal ligament from the affected tooth, so if just the mass is excised it will almost certainly grow back (sometimes within a few months). For this reason the associated tooth/teeth should be extracted along with the soft tissue mass and the periodontal ligament destroyed with hand curette and/or dental bur. The mass should be sent for histology post removal to check it has clear margins and also that the initial diagnosis was correct.

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