Aim
observe the occurrence of herpes simplex type I virus using PCR technique in the saliva of patients with Bell's palsy and relating it to the clinical evolution of these cases. Methodology: We evaluated 38 patients with Bell's palsy submitted to anamnesis, clinical and ENT examination and saliva sampling for viral DNA detection by PCR technique. The control group was ten normal adults.
Conclusion
The end result was that the presence of HSV-1 in the saliva of patients with Bell's palsy indicating that the viral reactivation can be the etiology of this disease. The detection of the virus in these patients saliva does not influence the disease prognosis.
Results
We found positive viral DNA in 11 cases out of the 38, which corresponded to 29% of the sample. This result was statistically significant if compared to the control group, in which we did not find any positive case.