The U.K. Department of Health should withdraw a rule that that prevents HIV-positive members of the dental team from treating patients, according to Dental Protection, a U.K. indemnity provider for dentists, reports dentistry.co.uk.
Despite the fact that there is no evidence supporting risk of transmission, many U.K. dentists and members of the dental team have been forced to stop working, according to Dental Protection. Antiretroviral medication can now effectively control HIV and the high levels of infection control have led to the removal of this restriction in much of Europe, as well as Australia and the U.S.
"The time has come to acknowledge the evidence and stop running scared of ill-informed public perception and media scaremongering," said Kevin Lewis, director of Dental Protection, in the story. "It seems to be forgotten that infected dental health professionals are also patients themselves, and they should they be treated no less fairly than other patients."
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