HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS AND DENTAL-CARE - NONDISCLOSURE OF HIV STATUS AND REJECTION FOR TREATMENT

Objective, To investigate reports of nondisclosure of HIV-seropositivi ty to dentists by HIV-infected patients and their rejection for dental treatment. Study design. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was completed by 101 consecutive consenting HIV-infected patients. Re sults. Eighty percent of respondents (mean age, 36 years) had visited a dentist since their HIV diagnosis; 15% of these reported that they h ad been refused treatment because the dentist did not want to treat HI V-infected patients. Rejection was reported by 25% of respondents with heterosexual and 14% with homosexual risk factors, 11% of recipients of blood or blood products, and 8% with unknown or multiple risk facto rs. Refusal was not associated with economic factors. Nondisclosure of HIV-seropositivity to their current dentist was reported by 13% of re spondents. No respondents attending hospitals or health units reported nondisclosure, compared with 18% of respondents attending private den tal offices (p < 0.05). Conclusion. More research is required with a l arger sample to improve generalizability and to permit subgroup analys is.