HIV Tests: Isn’t It Better To Know For Sure?
HIV testing from the dental hygienist
A Wyoming hygienist is offering HIV testing right in the dentist’s office! The CDC recommends that voluntary HIV screening become a part of regular medical care for all teens and adults. Stacy Smith is doing her part by offering to take an oral swab as part of her standard dental cleaning routine. The swabs are sent to an outside lab for analysis, and results take about two weeks. Soon Smith will offer OraQuick testing, which returns results in only 20 minutes.
Wyoming’s HIV rates are relatively low. With half a million residents, the state’s Department of Health estimates that about 140 are living with HIV/AIDS. Of course, 25% of those infected with HIV in the US don’t know it, leaving them far more likely to infect someone else. Smith is enthusiastic about making testing more commonplace. Since HIV can lead to changes in the mouth, she says testing is a natural fit for dental health professionals.
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January 29th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
This is all fine and wonderful as long as it remains voluntary. Compulsary testing would just be one more violation of radically disappearing “Civil Liberties!”
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:06 pm
Wie lange sind Sie schon als Blogger t