In the 20 years since the onset of HIV in the United States, studies continue to demonstrate that the risk of HIV transmission in dental offices is so low as to be almost undetectable, states a report by the American Dental Association (ADA) Board of Trustees to the ADA House of Delegates.

This ongoing research continues to support the dental office as a safe place to provide and receive oral health care when proper infection control procedures are followed.

According to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics, as of December 1999:

There is no documented evidence of patient-to-patient HIV transmission in the dental office,

Other than the Acer case, studies of HIV-infected dental workers have not identified a single instance of HIV transmission from an infected dental worker to a patient, and

Of 136 cases of health care workers with possible occupationally acquired HIV infection, six were associated with dental health care workers. Their positions within the dental office were not reported.

According to the ADA, billions of dental procedures have been performed safely. The rigorous infection control measures and universal precautions dentists take help protect patients from all bloodborne diseases, including AIDS.