Study of Admission Rate of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Positive Patients in 50 Dentistry Centers in Tehran (Spring 2003)

Background and Aims: Hepatitis B is one of the common diseases in the world and in Iran, caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV). This virus is transmitted by various ways including dentistry procedures and this may discourage dentists to admit hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive patients leading to hide the disease by the patients and increased transmission risk.
Methods:  During a cross-sectional descriptive study, 50 dentistry centers were chosen among dentistry centers of Tehran in various regions by cluster sampling. Two HBsAg positive medical students went to these centers and announced about their diseases and requested for dentistry. Samples (dentists and secretaries) did not have any information about the research. They studied and examined reaction of dentists and their secretaries as well as admission rate.
Results: Among 50 centers, 16 did not admit patients (5 cases by secretary and 11 cases by dentist) and 16 centers admitted them as the last patient (last appointment) and totally 32 cases met unfriendly. Among different regions of Tehran, the highest rate of non-admission was observed in the south (60%) and the lowest rate in the north (P<0.01). Charity centers and private centers had the most and the least non-admission rate, respectively, and the difference was significant (P<0.01). There were 16 non-admission cases among general dentists but there was not any rejection in specialists.
Conclusions: The higher rate of non-admission and unfriendly behavior in southern district of Tehran and military and charity centers may be related to the lack of awareness and proper communication between patient and dentist. It highlights the necessity of more educational workshop to promote dentists knowledge about HBV, encourage them to use disposable tools for the patients, more accurate supervision on centers by the ministry of health and finally to assume all patients as HBsAg positive.