Dentition status and treatment needs of human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients on anti retro viral therapy in Raichur taluk, Karnataka, India: A cross sectional study

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess the dentition status and the treatment needs of the HIV-positive patients on ART for more than a year in Raichur, Karnataka. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Convenience sampling was followed. The sample size was 170. The dentition status and treatment needs of the patients were recorded as per the WHO guidelines. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of dental caries was 79.4%. Males had higher percentage of dental caries than the females, and this was found to be statistically significant. The prevalence of dental caries was higher among the participants who used finger to clean their teeth compared to the toothbrush, neem stick, and charcoal users, and this was found to be statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Higher prevalence of dental caries was observed among the study population. Most of them required some type of treatment. Patients with a low CD4 count required higher treatments than the others.