by Amy Rosinsky, DDS
My passion has always been public health, even prior to applying to dental school. After graduation, private practice and another county based oral health center were just not the right fit. In 2017, I finally found my passion, working with and advocating for individuals living with HIV/AIDS. If you are thinking to yourself that you have not had a patient living with HIV, I can almost guarantee you that you have. They may not be comfortable disclosing their status due to experiences of stigma.
My goal in practice, after providing the best possible care, is to show compassion for people who may have been abandoned by their family and friends, or treated differently because of their status. I’ll never forget a time when a patient was nearly in tears because I shook his hand at the conclusion of his new patient visit. A previous health care provider had not wanted to touch his bare skin. Though that event occurred in the early 90’s when less was known about how HIV was transmitted, it stuck with him as a traumatic event by which all future providers would be judged. This was his sign that he would be safe and treated with respect in our clinic, far more than any words could have.
Saturday August 27th was the 35th annual Festival for Life, Colorado AIDS Walk at Cheeseman Park. After the event was held virtually for the last two years, it was great to see 50 participants in the competitive run category and 178 walkers! Over $45,000 dollars were raised; most of which through small $10 to $25 donations. While all of this community engagement is wonderful, the most powerful portion of the Festival for Life for me is the National AIDS Quilt Memorial, lovingly made by friends and family of those who have lost their fight with HIV/AIDS. The quilts have a way of speaking to the heart of the person lost and often hold significant pieces of memorabilia. If you have never attended such an event, I highly encourage it.
Now more than ever before, people are living longer, growing old, and living well with HIV. In fact, September 18th is HIV and Aging Awareness day. Long-term survivors often face similar health challenges of their peers. Extreme dry mouth due to polypharmacy is the number one issue in a dental office. Appropriate salivary function is essential to a healthy mouth and affects everything from caries risk and taste to calculus formation and denture retention. There are many products that can help your patients combat the effects of dry mouth, and often a more frequent recare interval is needed.
So how do you treat a patient living with HIV/AIDS? Since we all follow Standard Precautions, the most important part of the answer to that question is with compassion, from a trauma-informed care lens, as you would treat any other patient in your office.
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