HIV TESTING IN DENTAL PRACTICE: PERCEPTION AND ATTITUDE OF DENTISTS IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA.

Background: In recent times, the concept of routine HIV screening has been recommended to enhance early diagnosis and timely initiation of care thereby reducing morbidity and mortality among HIV infected persons. Dental practice has been identified as a unique venue of reaching at-risk individuals who may not otherwise access the conventional healthcare settings.

Aim: To assess the perception and attitude of dentists in Southwestern Nigeria concerning integrating HIV testing into dental practice.

Methods: this descriptive cross- sectional study was conducted between January-March, 2014. Convenience sampling was used to select 113 practising dentists within Southwest Nigeria. Data collection was done using a self- administered questionnaire.

Results: Agreement to HIV testing in dental settings was in the order of 100% for private practitioners followed by 91.7% from teaching hospitals (91.7%) and least agreement was with state hospitals (76.5%). There was a strong association between participants' years of practice and support for HIV testing in dental settings with highest support among those between 7-9 years (p= 0.002). Significantly too (p= 0.013), all the specialists (100%) agreed to HIV testing in dental settings compared to general practitioners (84.0%).

Conclusion: This study showed that most dentists in Southwest Nigeria acknowledged dental practice as being appropriate for expanded HIV testing and as well were willing to undergo training for HIV testing in their dental settings.