The most common of all the herpetic HSV-1 lesions is herpes labialis. They frequently involve the lips and adjacent skin at the corners of the mouth.
Recurrence usually starts at the same location, starting with a burning, tingling sensation and then forming vesicles that fuse together leaving large lesions.
After the vesicles rupture, crusting of the surface occurs. These lesions are known as "fever blisters." The crusted lesions are also referred to as "cold sores," because a common cold sometimes accompanies these HSV-1 lesions. Known causes for the reoccurrence of the HSV-1 lesions are:
Sunlight
Menstruation
Dental treatment (local trauma)
Stress or anxiety
Figure 5-12. - Herpes simplex virus-Type 1 (HSV-1).
The recurrent HSV-1 lesions usually take about 7 to 10 days to resolve. Any routine dental treatment is recommended to be rescheduled during the active phase of these lesions because the disease is highly transmissible.
The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-l) is the main cause of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
It is a worldwide epidemic. This deadly disease is a direct threat to all dental health professionals and other healthcare workers who are exposed to patients who carry the virus. Healthcare workers can be exposed to the AIDS virus through contaminated body fluids, exposure to blood or blood products, instruments, and equipment. You should also know some of the oral manifestations that infected people may have. Some of them are the initial signs a dentist can use to diagnosis patients who are carriers of the virus, but who have not been tested or diagnosed.
Some of the more common oral manifestations of HIV infection are as follows:
Candidiasis - (fig. 5-13) a fungal infection of the mouth, usually red or white in color
Hairy leukoplakia - (fig. 5-14) a viral infection, whose lesions appear as white, slightly raised, on the tongue
Kaposi's sarcoma - (fig. 5-15) cancerous, dark bluish-purple lesions that involve blood vessels
Procedures and precautions for protection will be discussed in chapter 10, "Infection Control."
Forms of oral cancer are found in the oral cavity at any site, but most often in the tongue, floor of the mouth, and the lower lip. The cancer is a neoplasm
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