HIV-Positive Patients' Discussion of Oral Health With Their HIV Primary Care Providers in Miami, Florida

During the course of their infection, more than 90 percent of persons living with HIV will have at least one oral manifestation of HIV disease. Given this prevalence, and the fact that clinically significant manifestations of oral disease may affect treatment regimens, clinical guidelines suggest that oral cavity examination should be included in initial as well as interim physical examinations of HIV patients.

In the current study, the researchers sought to describe HIV patients' discussion of oral and dental health with their HIV primary care providers and to identify the correlates of that discussion. Cross-sectional baseline data from a random trial testing the efficacy of a risk-reduction intervention were examined by the researchers.

The study's subjects were HIV-positive men and women accessing care at five HIV primary care clinics in Miami-Dade County, Fla. Of participants, 37 percent had no discussion of oral health with their provider. After controlling for age, gender, education, and clinic, the odds of discussion of oral health for respondents with five or more primary care visits in the past year were half the odds of those with fewer visits. For men reporting illicit drug use, odds of discussion were 35 percent of that for non-drug-using men. Odds of discussion were 1.4 times greater for each additional health topic (e.g., nutrition, smoking) that was discussed.

"Given that more than one-third of patients reported no discussion of oral health with their HIV primary care providers in the past year, there is a need to increase the focus on oral health in the HIV primary care setting," the authors concluded.

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