Oral hairy leukoplakia in an immunocompetent patient: a case report

Abstract

Oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL) is a viral infection of the oral mucosa which most dental practitioners will associate with patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The condition can also present in patients who are immunocompromised without HIV infection such as steroid use or organ transplant. This article presents a case of OHL in a patient who was not immunocompromised and which healed spontaneously following biopsy only. While perhaps surprising, this occurrence may not seemingly be rare and is one of which dentists should be aware of as it appears to be age related. With an increasing ageing population, this may become a more frequent presentation and highlights the importance of clinic-pathological correlation when presenting patients with the results of laboratory investigations.

Oral hairy leukoplakia-like in an immunocompetent patient

“…One interesting report described the onset and posterior remission of an OHL bilateral white patches of the tongue in an immunocompetent patient, suggesting an acute and transient infection by EBV. However, no HIV testing was done on the patient and this case could have been a case of chronic candidiasis presenting with concomitant EBV 12 .…”