Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude among Dental Care Workers towards Patients Affected with HIV/AIDS in a Private Dental College in India

Aims: HIV and AIDS is a major public health challenge and India alone accounts for 2.5 million of the Asian sub continent 2009 estimated 4.89 million people were living with HIV/AIDS. The oral manifestations are often among the first symptoms of HIV/AIDS and thus can be useful in early detection of the disease. Therefore it is professional and ethical responsibility of the dentist to provide treatment to such patients. Therefore, the present study was carried out to assess the knowledge and attitude of dentist and Dental auxiliary staff in a private Dental College.

Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study.

Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out for one month among the dentists and dental auxiliary staff. Information, thus obtained from above questionnaire was entered in MS excel spreadsheet and the percentage was calculated.

Results: Fifteen (30%) of the dentists had excellent knowledge regarding modes of transmission of HIV/AIDS while 18 (36%) of nurses had extremely poor knowledge. Thirty (60%) of the dentists had a positive attitude towards HIV/AIDS patients while 25 (50%) of the dental nursing staff and 9 (45%) of the Lab Technicians had negative attitudes towards them.

Recommendation: Regular continuous medical examination of dental health workers is advised for the up gradation of their knowledge and building of strong positive attitudes towards HIV/AID patients.