Acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis in a case of systemic lupus erythematosus

Presented is an unusually severe case of acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (ANUG) in association with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), in which the patient was observed to slough a considerable amount of attached gingival tissues and eventually to lose a number of teeth and supporting bone. The usual limited and treatable nature of ANUG is reviewed, and attention is directed to the mechanisms by which SLE and therapeutic amounts of steroids can contribute to the increased severity of the oral disease.