Per the notice below, the Effective Health Care (EHC) program has issued a report on dental services for people being treated for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Association Between Outcomes and Dental Services in People Receiving Treatment for Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Rapid Response Review

Rapid Evidence Product:  Full Report Dental Immunodeficiency Virus Rapid Response

• Purpose of Review and Key Messages
• Funding
• Report Citation

Purpose of Review and Key Messages

This review is undertaken to answer the following questions:

Key Question 1: What is the effectiveness of dental services in improving health outcomes in people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) before, during, or after HIV treatment?

Key Question 2: What are the clinical practice guidelines or standards for dental care for people with HIV?

Key Messages:

• The body of evidence informing KQ1 is limited to three poor-quality single-arm studies evaluating the impact of non-surgical periodontal treatment (NSPT) in HIV-positive patients with periodontitis.  Overall, the available data lack direct comparison and are at risk of selection and attrition bias, due to small and specific study populations and high dropout rates, respectively.
• All three studies found statistically significant increase in CD4 count from baseline after NSPT, while two reported no significant change in viral load from baseline after NSPT.
• Evidence on other HIV-related outcomes or adverse events associated with NSPT during antiretroviral therapy (ART) is unavailable.
• There are no studies on the effect of other dental services, nor the effect of dental treatment relative to timing of ART treatment.
• Eight guidelines with dental care practice recommendations for patients with HIV, from seven US-based professional organizations or government agencies and one India-based oral health expert group, consistently emphasize the importance of preventive oral care and include specific strategies to manage common HIV-related oral disease concerns, such as xerostomia, acid reflux, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.
• Guidelines encourage collaboration between primary care providers and dental providers to optimize the management of oral health for patients with HIV.

 

Funding

This evidence review was funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under contract no. 326696.

Report Citation

Yu WW, Digga E, Luterbach C, Jahanfar S, Prabhu S, Wurcel A, Leader D, Nirmala N.  Association Between Outcomes and Dental Services in People Receiving Treatment for Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Rapid Response Review.  (Prepared by Vindhya Data Sciences, Inc., under Contract No. 326696.)  AHRQ Publication No. 25-EHC032. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. May 2025.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.23970/AHRQEPC_RAPID_DENTAL_HIV.  Posted final reports are located on the Effective Health Care Program search page.