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Oral hairy leukoplakia ( OHL) is a viral infection of the oral mucosa which most dental practitioners will associate with patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV). The condition can also present in patients who are immunocompromised without HIV infection such as steroid use or organ transplant. This article presents a case of OHL in a patient who was not immunocompromised and which healed spontaneously following biopsy only. While perhaps surprising, this occurrence may not seemingly be rare and is one of which dentists should be aware of as it appears to be age related. With an increasing ageing population, this may become a more frequent presentation and highlights the importance of clinic-pathological correlation when presenting patients with the results of laboratory investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]