Evaluation of dental students' knowledge and patient care towards HIV/ AIDS individuals.

PURPOSE: The aim was to evaluate the knowledge of the students of dental students regarding patients care towards HIV positive individuals.

METHODS: 283 dental students (pre-clinical, n = 45; clinical, n = 238) answered an electronic questionnaire, approaching biosafety procedures, oral manifestations of AIDS, and knowledge of HIV infection. Data were present as an average from findings from students of 9 different semesters, grouping them by pre-clinical (1-4) and clinical (5-9) semesters, from two different university campuses. Furthermore, data were analyzed using the t-test and Chi-square test.

RESULTS: Students' mean age was 24 years. Among 14 oral manifestations questioned, Kaposi sarcoma, oral candidiasis, necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis, and herpes simplex were more associated with HIV. Over 90% of the respondents would be concerned about becoming infected with HIV after a needle stick injury and were willing to be tested for HIV; know that HIV/ AIDS patients can contaminate dental care professionals, that needle perforation can transmit HIV, and that medical professionals are more prone to cross-contamination. Regarding the use of physical barrier, almost all participants use disposable mask, goggles, cap and procedure gloves with all patients; the use of disposable lab coat and two pairs of gloves were the least used with all patients.

CONCLUSIONS: Participating students have good knowledge on biosafety in the management of HIV/ AIDS patients, as well as on the most commonly associated oral manifestations. However, there is a need for improvement on some topics related to HIV/ AIDS, especially regarding less known oral lesions, and HIV diagnostic tests. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.