knowledge and attitude of post-graduate dentistry students regarding hiv-positive patients

Background and aim: human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) can cause a hazardous disease and has severe fatal consequences. the problem of dental treatment in affected patients has still remained a big debate. the objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of post-graduate dentistry students regarding treatment and education of hiv-positive patients. methods: this was a cross-sectional descriptive study on the post-graduate students of dentistry in iran. samples were collected using consensus method. a valid questionnaire comprising three parts was designed according to previous studies. the questionnaire comprised of a demographic part, general questions and questions regarding knowledge and attitude of the subjects. answers were collected and student’s t-test and fischer’s exact test was used to analyze the data. results: a total of 380 subjects took part in this study (164 male, 216 female). there were 92 hiv-positive patients. the average score of knowledge was 14.5 ± 2.8 (range = 0-24). the average score of knowledge in male and female participants was 14.5 ± 2.8 and 14.6 ± 2.7 respectively (range = 0-65). there was no significant relationship between knowledge and gender (p = 0.70). the average score of attitude was 44.8 ± 5.25 and male residents had a positive attitude in comparison to female residents. male participants had a significantly more negative attitude toward high risk and hiv-positive patients compared to female residents (p = 0.04). conclusion: the results of this study showed that post-graduate students had a positive attitude toward treatment of hiv-positive patients. also, this study showed that post-graduate students had a good knowledge about the hivpositive patients. this study shows that post-graduate students of dentistry were eager to learn more about the treatment of hiv-positive patients. findings of this study also add new concepts to the oral hygiene maintenance of hiv-positive patients and decision making for them.