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Pediatric HIV: Oral lesions are commonly associated with the disease

October 09, 2006

Across the globe, the presence of HIV is wide-spread. At the end of 2004, the United Nations HIV/AIDS program estimated that 2.5 million children under the age of 15 were affected worldwide. Additionally, approximately 500,000 children in that same age group died from disease-related cases in that year alone. In the United States, 90 percent of infected children are infected by the disease through birth.

The effects of the disease on children differ greatly from those in adults, according to a report/study that appears in the July/August 2006 issue of General Dentistry, the AGD's clinical, peer-reviewed journal. Type, severity and progression are all factors that differ, depending on the age at which one contracts the disease.

"Children do not demonstrate HIV-specific symptoms as adults do," says Kishore Shetty, DDS, lead author of the study. "Their bodies will most likely display an infection or weakness instead of common HIV signs."

The place where this most commonly occurs is in the mouth. There are many variations of the way lesions appear, but a few common types are: candidiasis, or "thrush," a fungal yeast infection; salivary gland enlargement; herpes simplex virus; inflammation of the gingiva; and canker sores.

"Orofacial manifestations of HIV are common in pediatric HIV infection," Shetty adds. "It is important to be aware of these signs, as they may serve as both a marker of infection and predictor of HIV progressing to AIDS."

Academy of General Dentistry