Dear Dr. Reznik, I am a physician in Chicago. - I had a sexual encounter with a woman one year ago and developed a roseola-like rash the following week. Since that time, I have tested negative for HIV by EIA, western blot, pcr, and viral culture. About six months ago, I developed severe pain in my teeth and along my gingiva. I have also been experiencing recession of my gingiva, loose teeth, and nocturnal bleeding. My periodontist and dentist characterized the gingival recession as chemical erosion. I must admit that I have been using listerine three to four times per day, but I doubt this is the cause of my problems. I have even prescribed myself a course of peridex and clindamycin for ten days without resolution of my problems. Could you please shed some light on my problem for me. I fear that I have been infected with a HIV subtype which is not picked up by current ELISA tests. Could there be another reason for my constellation of signs and symptoms?

Without the ability to exam your mouth, I unable to offer much of an opinion as to what is causing your symptoms. I will say that if you were suffering from necrotizing ulcerative periodontitis (NUP), the classic symptom would be deep jaw pain, and not pain along the teeth and gums. For most people suffering with NUP a course of Augmentum or metronidazole in combination with a chlorhexidine mouthrinse such as PerioGard would alleviate the symptoms until you were able to see a general dentist or periodontist and have the area debrided. I would advise against using Listerine 3 to 4 times per day as the alcohol content is extremely high and could lead to chemical erosion. It sounds to me like you have excellent oral health providers.

As far as your symptoms being related to HIV infection, periodontitis and gingivitis are very, very common in the general HIV negative population and are not associated, per say, with HIV infection.

Take care,

DR