Prevalence of HIV-associated periodontitis and gingivitis in HIV-infected patients attending an AIDS clinic

We investigated the prevalence of HIV-associated periodontal disease in an AIDS clinic in San Francisco. Patient recruitment occurred over 6 months with 90% patient participation. In 136 patients, three forms of periodontal disease were recorded: HIV-associated gingivitis (HIV-G), HIV-associated periodontitis (HIV-P), and conventional non-HIV-associated periodontal disease. Diagnosis was based on defined clinical criteria established before the study began. For the HIV-associated diseases, two sets of diagnostic criteria were used. One consisted of clinical signs that included bleeding on probing, pocket depth, and attachment loss; and the other consisted of the same signs but did not require probing (the measurement of the depth of the gingival sulcus). Using the first set of these criteria, HIV-G was diagnosed in 42 patients [31%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 23 to 39%] and HIV-P in 5 (4%; 95% CI 1 to 7%). Using the second set, 68 patients were diagnosed with HIV-G (50%; 95% CI 42 to 58%) and 8 with HIV-P (6%; 95% CI 2 to 10%). All other categories of periodontal disease that were non-HIV-associated were diagnosed in 60 (44%) of patients. These results indicate that while the prevalence of HIV-P is low, the prevalence of HIV-G and conventional periodontal disease among HIV-infected individuals is high and should be considered in the dental care of these patients.