Article:

This report investigates the outcome of CLS procedures performed at an urban dental school in a population of individuals with HIV. Specifically, this retrospective clinical analysis evaluates the healing response after crown lengthening surgery (CLS). Of the 21 patients with HIV examined after CLS, none had postoperative complications, such as delayed healing, infection, or prolonged bleeding. Variations in viral load, CD4 cell count, smoking, platelets, and neutrophils did not impact surgical healing. In addition, variations in medication regimens (highly active anti-retroviral therapy; on pro-tease inhibitors; no medications had an impact. The results of this retrospective analysis show the absence of postoperative complications after CLS in this population with HIV. Additional investigation into this area will help health care practitioners increase the range of surgical services provided to this group of patients.