Intra-oral hypermelanosis in an HIV sero-positive patient--a case report.

A 32 year old HIV sero positive male patient reported to the Ragas Dental College Annexure at Voluntary Health Services Hospital, Chennai for evaluation of oral health status. He had no history of any drug or tobacco usage. Intra oral examination revealed pigmentation in the buccal mucosa on both sides, which was increasing over the past six months. Histopathologic evaluation of the hyper pigmented lesion was done, using routine Haematoxylin & Eosin and Masson-Fontana stains. The hyper pigmentation was observed to be as a result of increased melanin production in the epithelium. The pathogenesis of hypermelanosis intra-orally in HIV sero-positive patients is discussed in this article.