Table 3.
Perception of dentists’ scientific knowledge regarding HIV, stratified according to their opinion on whether it is right or wrong not to treat someone who is HIV positive.
| Discrimination | No | Yes |
|---|---|---|
| Number of valid answers | 1009 | 45 |
| Scientific knowledge | ||
| Good | 791 (78.4%) | 35 (77.8%) |
| Bad | 218 (21.6%) | 10 (22.2%) |
| Ways used to further increase their scientific knowledge | ||
| Journals | 138 (13.7%) | 7 (15.6%) |
| Remote learning | 64 (6.3%) | 4 (8.9%) |
| Books | 98 (9.7%) | 5 (11.1%) |
| University courses | 404 (40%) | 19 (42.2%) |
| Colleagues | 15 (1.5%) | 1 (2.2%) |
| Internet | 73 (7.2%) | 2 (4.4%) |
| Courses from professional orders | 217 (21.6%) | 7 (15.6%) |
| Opinions on HIV infection transmission pathways | ||
| Parenteral (including sex) | 986 (97.7%) | 43 (95.6%) |
| Orofecal route | 8 (0.8%) | 0 |
| Through saliva | 9 (0.9%) | 2 (4.4%) |
| Through social life (excluding sex) | 6 (0.6%) | 0 |
| Have you ever heard of the window period? | ||
| Yes | 869 (86.1%) | 39 (86.7%) |
| No | 140 (13.9%) | 6 (13.3%) |
| How many days is the window period? | ||
| 0–40 days | 196 (19.4%) | 10 (22.2%) |
| 40–120 days | 524 (51.9%) | 27 (60%) |
| 120–365 days | 143 (14.2%) | 8 (17.8%) |
° This question was answered by only 908 dentists.