Practical considerations in the treatment of the HIV-infected patient

The HIV-infected patient presents a special challenge to the dentist because of the concerns relative to the diagnosis and management of their oral problems. Concerns about the patient's medical history, medications, and compromising health status, however, make the HIV-positive patient no more special than any other patient with these concerns. These principles of concern apply to all patients; infection control in the dental office no longer relates to any particular group of patients but to all who seek care and all who provide it. Through continuing education, dentists should become more comfortable in accepting HIV-positive patients in their offices, and through actually providing necessary dental treatment to all individuals, they should no longer consider the HIV-positive patient as special. Dentists need to maintain close contact with the infected patient's physician, however, to ensure maximum appropriate care and minimize any risk to the patient's general health as a result of dental treatment.