Pain and Sensory Changes Assessment in HIV+ Patients

There are about 42 million people in the world afflicted with HIV or AIDS with about 1 million patients in the US. The epidemiology of orofacial pain has been reported extensively in the literature, yet the prevalence severity and level of pain affecting the head, face, neck and intraoral structures has not been explored in a population of HIV infected individuals. Pain, in general terms, is a common experience in HIV infected patients, even in the absence of cancer or opportunistic infections. There is a variation in the prevalence of pain in these individuals depending on the stage of disease, care setting, and study methods. The purpose of this study is: 1. To investigate the prevalence of orofacial pain in HIV infected patients during routine dental clinical assessment. 2. To study the sensory phenotype of HIV+ patients and healthy volunteers using Quantitative Sensory Testing: * To detect the presence of sensory aberrations in the orofacial complex; * To identify which nerve types are involved; * To identify the type of orofacial pain based on both sensory testing and clinical findings. 3. To determine psychological condition and nutrition status in patients with HIV. 4. To find associations between inherited traits and development of neuropathic pain.