Awareness and Oral Health Programs May Decrease Risks of HIV/AIDS

Health professionals state that more education on oral health is needed for people suffering from HIV and AIDS. According to the statistics, the number of people infected with HIV is reaching 1,1 million people. To raise awareness and money, volunteers in Nashville decided to participate in the AIDS Walk. The state of Tennessee is marked by the highest number of deaths from HIV and AIDS, and about 21,400 people from Tennessee are currently suffering from HIV and AIDS.

It becomes obvious that more work and education should be provided. Health professionals are sure that patients do not realize the importance of oral health. Most of them do not know that their mouth is the first place where the symptoms of an HIV infection may be observed. At the same time, oral health is the indicator of your immune system condition. The problem is that HIV patients do not understand the correlation between the oral and dental health and infection development they have.

For healthy people, gingivitis and cavities can be treated as minor issues but HIV patients can experience pain and tooth loss as a result of their minor oral health problems. Dental professionals consider that HIV patients need to pay more attention to saliva and if they feel symptoms of dry mouth they need to address a dentist as soon as possible, as it can result in serious tooth decay. The condition of dry mouth is rather common for HIV or AIDS patients due to the number of medications they take.

Due to the appearance of these medications in the bloodstream, a lot of important organs can become predisposed to damage. That is why dentists need to work in cooperation with communities and to hold educational events and screening across the state on a regular basis. Healthcare professionals stated that awareness and oral health programs may play a vital role in decreasing the number of people sick with HIV and Aids.

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