Complex oral manifestations of an HIV-seropositive patient

A complex manifestation of characteristic oral lesions occurring simultaneously in an HIV-seropositive patient is presented. Necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (NUG), necrotizing ulcerative periodontitis (NUP), oral-facial herpes infection, pseudomembranous candidiasis and atypical oral ulceration are discussed. In spite of extremely low CD4+ T-cell counts of 3 x 10(6)/L and lack of anti-retroviral therapy, an AIDS patient responded favourably to standard periodontal therapy. In the follow-up period of 3 months, no recurrence of any of the oral lesions initially present occurred and no special prophylactic regimes were needed to maintain oral health. This case illustrates that appropriate management of the oral manifestations contributes significantly to improvement of the quality of life of patients in the terminal stage of HIV-AIDS.