AIDS AND INFECTION
CONTROL
A systemic disease is reflected in the
mouth.
AIDS is know as the
human immunodeficiency virus. AIDS is less infectious than hepatitis
B virus. The AIDS virus is readily destroyed by disinfection
and
sterilization measures that are used in our office to control the
transmission of all infectious disease.
We use "universal
precautions" to protect you. Universal precautious means that
we use the same protective measures
with every patient to prevent transmission of all infection disease.
Some of these
precautions are readily visible to you during your visit, like general
cleanliness of our office, our use of masks and gloves, or frequent hand
washing.
We use several
methods to sterilize and disinfect to kill bacteria and viruses that we perform before and after your visit that you may not be so aware of.
The Center for Disease
Control states that it is extremely remote that a dental patient would
contract AIDS from any procedure done at a dental office because of our
rigid infection control protocol, thus the risk of HIV transmission in
dental settings is low.**
We welcome your
questions about our infection control procedures because we want you to be
comfortable and assured that we are doing our best to protect you and to
keep you safe.
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Updates
Pediatric HIV: Oral lesions are commonly associated with the
disease
Across the
globe, the presence of HIV is wide-spread, 500,000 children
died from disease-related cases in that year alone. In the United States,
90 percent of infected children are infected by the
disease through birth.
The effects
of the disease on children differ greatly from those in
adults, according to a report/study that appears in the
July/August 2006 issue of General Dentistry. Type, severity
and progression are all factors that differ, depending on
the age at which one contracts the disease.Children do not
demonstrate HIV-specific symptoms as adults do, their bodies
will most likely display an infection or weakness instead of
common HIV signs.”
The place
where this most commonly occurs is in the mouth.
There are many variations of the way lesions appear, but a
few common types are: candidiasis,
or “thrush,” a fungal yeast infection; salivary gland
enlargement; herpes simplex virus; inflammation of the
gingiva; and canker sores.
Orofacial
manifestations of HIV are common in pediatric HIV infection,
it is important to be aware of these signs, as they may
serve as both a marker of infection and predictor of HIV
progressing to AIDS.
What
to do:
• Visit your general
dentist. They handle the majority of dental emergencies.
• If you fear that your child or teen might be at risk, have
them tested as soon as possible. The sooner a child is
diagnosed, the sooner treatment can begin.
• Communicate with your dentist if the child has HIV. It
will alert them to look closely for signs of disease, plus
allow them to provide the best possible treatment 10/06
AIDS Update: no transmission
data
Epidemiological studies
continue to demonstrate that the risk of HIV transmission in the
dental office (from provider to patient, patient to provider and
patient to patient is so low as to be virtually undetectable.
ADA News Nov 2,2003; NDA pg 12 1/04
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Peptides in the mouth may
prevent people from contracting HIV. To determine
why the human immunodeficiency virus rarely is contracted
through the mouth. Since the lining of the mouth is
under constant attack by bacteria that live and grow in the
mouth, it has a defense line of peptides called human beta
defensins-2, or hBD2, and human beta defensins-3, or hBD3. The
presence of these peptides in the mouth may prevent humans from
getting sick and may promote rapid healing of the mouth from
food abrasions or accidental bites to the tongue and mouth.
Researchers found that when HIV was introduced to a single layer
of human oral epithelial cells grown in the laboratory, the
expression of hBD2 increased by almost 80-fold. In fact, HIV
failed to infect these cells even after five days of exposure,
which was 72 hours after HIV no longer could live in the
conditions found in the mouth. medical interventions
using natural products, such as those being isolated from the
"good oral bugs" may help in preventing the spread of
AIDS.
ADA 12/03 News bulletin.
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Kiss of Death?
It was once thought French-kissing
and oral sex were safe if your partner had AIDS. A
recent study from UCLA and Drew University exposed mouth
tissue taken from HIV negative people to the virus and found that
the virus was actually able to infect the tissue. AIDS
virus can be transferred through kissing when people have
bleeding gums which is commonly found in people with gum
disease. Please remember about 75 % of the US
population has gum disease i.e. bleeding gums. The CDC
recommends using condoms or dental dams during oral sex.
Elle pg 84 June 2003
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HIV Screening finds Zero
Positives in Dental Transmissions:
The ADA Health Foundation Health
Screening Program indicated that the dental office is a safe
place to provide and receive care. "Current
recommended infection control procedures are very effective at
minimizing the risk of infection by blood borne
pathogens". "The risk
of HIV transmission in the dental office from provider to patient,
patient to provider and patient to patient is so low as to be
almost undetectable".
ADA News December 10, 2001 pg 10
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An Update on HIV and
Periodontal Disease An Update on HIV and Periodontal Disease -
Mark I. Ryder
With the advent of newer
pharmacological approaches to the treatment HIV infection, the
incidence and progression periodontal diseases are changing. The
incidence of necrotizing periodontitis
and gingival diseases of fungal origin appears to be on the
decline as a result of these therapies that have led to
increased life spans for HIV patients. However, in cases where
these therapies lose their effectiveness and HIV patients
relapse into an immunosuppressed state, these conditions may
recur. Recent evidence has shown that HIV patients with more
conventional periodontal diseases such as chronic periodontitis
may have increased attachment loss and gingival recession
when compared to their HIV-negative counterparts. This pattern
of loss of periodontal support may be due in part to a diffuse
invasion of bacterial infections, viruses, and fungi into the
gingival tissue, leading to a more elevated and more
destructive response in the periodontal soft and hard
tissues. While the accepted approaches to treating of
periodontal diseases in HIV patients remain essentially
unchanged over the past. J Periodontol
2002;73(9):1071-1078.
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Hepatitis C
The prevalence of hepatitis C
virus infection is increasing worldwide. Chronic infection with
this virus is one of the most important causes of chronic liver
disease and the most common indication for orthotopic liver
transplantation in most centers in the United States.*
*Resource: Medline 10/01
** Use of HIV Post Exposure
Prophylaxis by Dental Health Care Personnel, Drs: Cleveland,
Barker, Gooch, Beltrami, Cardo JADA, Vol.133 December 2002, pgs
1619-1626.
Recourses:
HIV Dent
Infection control
Dental treatment concerns:
HIV Dental Treatment
Treatment Planning:
HIV Treatment
planning
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