Widespread support for rapid HIV testing in dental surgeries

Widespread support for rapid HIV testing in dental surgeries. July 2014 - More than 80 per cent of oral health patients are willing to receive rapid HIV-testing in dental settings, which could help reduce the spread of the HIV according to a groundbreaking study revealed today at a Sydney University HIV Testing Symposium. The first of its kind study of 521 Sydney-based dental patients assessed patients' willingness to undergo rapid HIV testing in dental settings, their preference for HIV testing-type type and their willingness to pay for the test. Rapid HIV testing is a screening test that swiftly detects the presence of HIV antibodies in a person's body by testing blood or oral fluids. It can be done as a simple finger prick or a saliva swab, and results can be made available within 20 minutes. Rapid HIV testing is currently unavailable in dental settings anywhere in the world although the technology has been widely available for a decade. Australians will soon be able to access rapid HIV-testing themselves after the federal government last week announced that it had lifted restrictions preventing the manufacture and sale of oral home-testing kits.