HIV/AIDS-related attitudes and oral impacts on daily performances: a cross-sectional study of Sudanese adult dental patients

Abstract

BackgroundFew studies have investigated the relationships between HIV-related knowledge, fear of contagion in dental environments and Oral Impacts on Daily Performance (OIDP) among dental patients. Our objectives were to investigate the associations between HIV-related knowledge and fear of contagion in dental environments and OIDP among dental patients, and to evaluate whether those associations were modified by the frequency of dental service attendance.MethodsA total of 1262 patients (mean age 30.7 years, 56.5% females) were recruited from the Khartoum Dental Teaching Hospital and the University of Science and Technology during March–July 2008. The participants underwent a full-mouth oral clinical examination and completed an interview in a face-to-face setting.ResultsOf the study participants, 41.4% had visited a dentist at least twice during the last 2 years, 96.2% had caries experience (DT > 0) and 79.1% reported oral impacts (OIDP > 0). The most frequently reported oral impacts were problems eating, sleeping and cleaning teeth. In total, 26.3% of the participants had HIV transmission knowledge, 75.6% knew people with HIV/AIDS and 58.7% perceived a high risk of cross-infection in dental environments. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, frequency of dental service attendance and caries experience, patients who had high HIV-related information exposure, a positive attitude toward people with HIV/AIDS and a high perceived risk of cross-infection were more likely to report oral impacts, whereas patients who knew people with HIV/AIDS were less likely to report oral impacts. The association between OIDP and HIV transmission knowledge was modified by frequency of dental service attendance.ConclusionsDental patients who were informed about HIV and had a high HIV/AIDS risk perception were more likely to report impaired oral health-related quality of life than their less informed counterparts and those who perceived a low risk of contagion. The effect of HIV transmission knowledge on oral impacts was influenced by frequency of dental service attendance.

Oral health status of people living with HIV/AIDS attending a specialized service in Brazil

“…This shows that the demand for dental care happens when the dental disease is already at an advanced stage, which causes irritation and pain. A direct consequence of this systematic exclusion of services, extractions are outcomes that, in most cases, could be avoided …”

Factor analysis of two versions of the Oral Impacts on Daily Performance scale

“…The adapted version of the OIDP is used in South Africa, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Thailand, Malaysia, Sudan, Peru, Brazil, and other countries, showing that there is face and content validity for different populations (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9). Studies undertaken in Great Britain, Malaysia, Peru, Korea, and Brazil have shown construct validity and reliability of the instrument (2,8,(10)(11)(12).…”

Impacts of health of users with HIV/AIDS in a specialized service

“…Study participants also reported that they avoid seeking dental services in non-specific places for the public with HIV/AIDS, for fear of not having the necessary care to sterilize the equipment and thus be able to transmit the virus. This demonstrates the need for communication to the population about effective measures to control the transmission of this infection, which should be adopted in dental offices (36) . There is a high probability that participants in the present study were able to access dental services on a regular basis, only from their insertion in the specialized service for HIV/AIDS, when they did not present a good oral condition, a fact similar to that demonstrated in another research (17) .…”