HIV positive dentists permitted to practice in Europe

The ability of oral healthcare professionals to continue practising in the event that they are diagnosed as HIV positive has been the subject of research conducted by Dental Protection in conjunction with the Council of European Dentists. Click here to view data

The indicates that the countries of Europe are almost evenly split between those where the dentist is able to work, and the situation that exists in the UK where the dentist must immediately stop working. The evidence base was recently reviewed at the 6th World Workshop on Oral Health and Disease in AIDS which produced a consensus statement known as the Beijing Declaration. The proceedings of the Workshop and the references will be published during 2010 in Advances in Dental Research which is an e-supplement of the Journal of Dental Research.

Meanwhile the appropriate committees in the UK are currently reviewing the situation of UK healthcare workers with blood-borne disease.

According to the public minutes of the Expert Advisory group on AIDS, the scientific subgroup of the Tripartite Working Group was due to meet in June 2010 ahead of a Tripartite Working Group meeting to be convened in September.

Meanwhile the minutes of the January 2010 meeting of the Standards Committee of the General Dental Council contains a discussion paper on whether the current Department of Health guidance for HIV infected healthcare workers is still appropriate in light of recent developments. Download enclosure C - Dental Professionals with HIV here.

An archive of background comment and discussion is available on HIVDent.org here