HIV infection, dental treatment demands and needs among patients seeking dental services at the Muhimbili Medical Centre in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
✍ Scribed by Dr. Mecky Matee; Herbert Nguvumali; Bakari Lembariti; Boniphace Kalyanyama; Farrid Shubi; Flemming Scheutz
- Publisher
- FDI World Dental Federation
- Year
- 1999
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 478 KB
- Volume
- 49
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0020-6539
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to determine the frequency of HIV infection among dental patients attending the three dental facilities at Muhimbili Medical Centre (MMC) in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, and to compare the dental treatment demands and needs of the patients found to be HIV-infected with those of their HIV-seronegative counterparts. The facilities were; the dental outpatient department (DOPD) clinic, the dental minor surgery department, and the dental ward. This study which was conducted between March and April, 1996 enrolled a total of 460 patients. The investigations involved detection of anti-HIV IgG antibodies in saliva, examination of oral and peri-oral tissues, and assessment of dental and periodontal status. The overall HIV frequency among the dental patients was 10.9 per cent. The frequencies of HIV infection among patients attending the dental OPD clinic, minor surgery, and those admitted in the dental ward were 9.4 per cent, 26.3 per cent, and 25.0 per cent, respectively. The dental treatment demands and needs of HIV-seropositive patients were not different from that of HIV-seronegative patients. The high frequency of HIV infection calls for institution of infection control measures in the dental clinics. However, such measures need to be tailored for the poor countries, with potentially high frequency of HIV infection and minimal resources, in order to make them relevant.
The prevalence of HIV infection in Dar-es-Salaam is estimated to be around 10 per cent of the population's2. It is believed that the magnitude of HIV infection is higher among patients attending health care facilities for treatment, due to the association of some of their illnesses with HIV infection and AIDS. For example, over half of all admissions in the medical and surgical wards at Muhimbili Medical Centre (MMC) in Dar-es-Salaam are due to HIV infection and AIDS related illnesses3. There is, however, no such information for dental patients. In an AIDS burdened country like Tanzania, it is possible that some of the dental problems for which patients seek