Hi Dr. Reznik, I hope youre back to this forum, Ive checked it several times for a while with no updates. Ive been wondering about this for a while and I hope you can help me, sorry if it seems stupid but I cant get my mind out of it. How common do people have a spontaneous bleeding in their mouths? Or not so spontaneous but for example, during kissing or giving oral sex to someone else? Could any activity increase the chance that a person bleeds in the oral cavity and therefore increase the risk of transmission in case they are infected? Thank you very much. All the best for you.

Spontaneous bleeding from the oral cavity is not a common occurrence by any stretch of the imagination. The most common reasons this can occur are as follows: severe periodontal disease, severely decayed teeth that are broken down to the gun line, history of a recent dental extraction or a history of a low platelet count. There is an oral manifestation of HIV known as Necrotizing Ulcerative Periodontitis (a very extreme form of periodontal disease) that can also lead to spontaneous bleeding in the oral cavity. For the most part, a person can tell from malodor (bad breath) if the person in question has severe periodontal disease or severely decayed teeth. Most people suggest that you do not brush and floss approximately an hour before you are to engage in deep kissing or oral intercourse.

DR