Dental Students’ Perceptions on Patients with HIV or Hepatitis B Infection

Abstract

Background: Dentists see many patients with undiagnosed or diagnosed HIV and Hepatitis B infection, posing threat to both doctor and patients. The aim of this study was to investigate dental students' knowledge, awareness and attitude towards HIV and Hepatitis B patients. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was given to 164 clinical dental students in Kuala lumpur. Findings: A significant percentage (49%) of the students did not know that HBV is transmitted via saliva. Female students were consistently more knowledgeable and had positive attitude towards such patients. Students had sufficient knowledge about the importance of double-gloving (69%). They displayed in consistent knowledge about the difference in infection potential of HBV and HIV. Most students (87.3%) were aware of the possibility of accidental exposure during recapping needles and spraying biological material but they were not aware about other accidental exposures. 87% students agreed

Awareness, knowledge and attitudes of dental students in Yeditepe University Faculty of Dentistry towards individuals with HIV/AIDS

“…The willingness of students to treat HIV patients was consistent with findings of other studies. 12,26,27 While these results are higher than those reported by others lower than stated by Fotedar et. al.…”

“…al. 26 Fourth and fifth year students' knowledge on oral candidiasis and ANUG were higher than first, second and third year students. This may be due to theoretical lectures about oral symptoms of HIV/AIDS in these years.…”

Assessment of knowledge, awareness and attitude towards hepatitis B and human immunodeficiency virus among dental students: A cross-sectional study at Karachi, Pakistan

“…In order to evaluate the attitude, knowledge and awareness on HIV and HBV, pretested questions on these variables were taken from the recently published study by Bindal et al (2014) and modified further. This self-administered questionnaire consists of a total of sixteen (16) variables/questions along with socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, qualification years) were administered.…”

“…Despite the use of standard precautions, dental professionals are easily exposed to numerous blood borne infections (Myers et al, 2012). In the oral healthcare setting, transmission of infectious microorganisms is still considered a serious risk due to the inevitable involvement of bodily fluids (Beltrami et , which is mainly due to the frequent utilization of sharp penetrative instruments in a limited operating area (Bindal et al, 2014). Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV), the etiological agents of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and hepatitis B, respectively, are perhaps the most dangerous pathogens (Lavanchy, 2004;Shaikh et al, 2011).…”

“…HBV infection is a major global health issue worldwide, because 2 billion people are infected with this hazard (Lavanchy, 2004) and more importantly it is referred to as the "silent infection" for dental care professionals (Ammon et al, 2000). Studies reported that transmission of HBV in the oral healthcare setting is alarmingly high, as in dental practitioners, the risk of becoming a chronic HBV carrier is 10 times more as compared with the average individual (Bindal et al, 2014;Myers et al, 2012;Ali et al, 2011). Similarly, HBV is 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV, because the vectors of HBV infection in dental practice are blood, saliva and nasopharyngeal secretions (Colvin and Mitchell, 2010), whereas, blood remains the primary encountered vector in dental practice (Myers et al, 2012).…”