b. Intraoral Herpes. Intraoral herpes (figure 1-9) forms on extremely firm oral
tissue surfaces such as the palate (roof of the mouth) and attached gingiva. Vesicles
are not usually identified because they break down almost immediately into ulcers and
coalesce to form multiple jagged ulcerations.
NOTE:
The herpes simplex virus may cause ulcers to form inside the mouth. In this
example, the ulcers are on the roof of the mouth (the palate).
Figure 1-9. Intraoral herpes.
c. Complications. The lesions may persist and be very serious in patients with
a compromised immune system. While the virus may regress, it does not disappear.
The lesions caused by the virus do disappear, however. Also, it is important for dental
specialists to recognize that this may be a very serious infection when it occurs in
immuno-compromised patients (AIDS, renal transplant, cancer chemotherapy, and so forth).
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