MUCOCELE IN A CHILD PATIENT: CASE REPORT

The objective of this study was to report a clinical case of a patient diagnosed with mucocele in the lower lip, describing its pathology, identification and treatment. Mucocele occurs in the lower lip, but can also be found in the upper lip, tongue, oral mucosa, and rarely in the retromolar region and palate. It is one of the benign lesions that most affects the oral cavity, commonly asymptomatically. They can be confused with ranulas, but are differentiated by their location, since ranulas are located on the floor of the mouth and under the tongue. It manifests clinically with a bluish or colorless coloration, translucent and circumscribed. In some cases, the lesion ruptures spontaneously. A seven-year-old female patient attended the dental clinic complaining of an asymptomatic “lump on the lower lip”. The guardian reported that the child frequently bit her lips and that this had manifested three times. After clinical examination, the presence of a traumatized salivary gland in the lower lip was observed. The diagnosis of mucocele was obtained. Due to the complaint of the guardian of recurrence of this lesion that was occurring for the third time, after diagnosis and planning by the dental surgeon, the traumatized gland was excised and sutured. The child was cooperative during the surgery, which was performed under local anesthesia, dispensing with general anesthesia. After complete excision of the mucocele, the guardian was instructed to instruct the child not to bite his lip anymore, avoiding recurrence of the lesion. The patient returned after 30 days, without complaints of recurrence of the mucocele. The case was followed up for six months and no further recurrence was observed. It was concluded that the topic addressed is of high relevance, therefore the pediatric dentistry professional must be aware of mucocele for correct diagnosis and treatment, in addition to instructing the guardian on the importance of the patient's cooperation to prevent recurrence.