Oral manifestations of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients in Singapore.

Introduction: Oral lesions have been recognised as prominent features of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection since the beginning of the epidemic.

Objective: This descriptive study was conducted to study the types of oral lesions among HIV-infected patients in Singapore.

Materials And Methods: Oral examination was done on 81 randomly selected HIV-infected patients attending the specialist outpatient clinic at the Communicable Disease Centre.

Results: A total of 9 different lesions were observed in 45 (56%) patients. The lesions observed were oral candidosis (35%), periodontal disease (16%), aphthous-like ulcers (5%), oral hairy leukoplakia (5%) and lymphoma (1%).

Conclusion: The oral manifestations of HIV-infected patients in Singapore appear to be less frequent in comparison with those patients from Africa and Europe. Similarities in oral findings among the HIV-infected patients in Asia are evident with a notable lack of oral Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and a low prevalence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and oral hairy leukoplakia.