Knowledge and attitude of dental students towards HIV/AIDS patients

Aim: to study the knowledge and attitude of dental students towards HIV/AIDS patients. Background: In the present generation, due to the development of various successful Anti-retroviral therapies, the life span of the infected individuals has increased. Hence these patients will require increasingly competent and compassionate health care services, including oral health care. Materials and Methods: This survey was conducted on 100 dental students in the 3rd, 4th and 5th year students of a private dental college. The students completed a predesigned self-administered questionnaire comprising 20 questions assessing the knowledge, attitude and willingness to treat HIV/AIDS patients. Result: The survey was completed by 100% of the students. The analysed results proved that more than half of the population in the study exhibited good knowledge and a few proclaimed to have excellent knowledge. The mean knowledge score is 73.67%, among all the considered years of study. Despite their good level of knowledge, only 58% of the study population displayed a positive attitude (non professional attitude) toward HIV/AIDS, whereas the remaining 42% of the population were negative or neutral towards the treatment of HIV.