Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1991. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle (SF); Wednesday, July 3, 1991
David Tuller, Chronicle Staff Writer
The ad, which ran in the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner on Thursday, asked readers: "Wouldn't it be reassuring to know that your dentist has tested negative?" It said that patients could find "that peace of mind" by visiting Drs. Stephen Voyne and Patricia Walker.
Advocates for people with AIDS say the Oakland dentists are seeking to recruit patients by playing on people's fears and that the ad is fueling the growing public hysteria over the remote possibility of becoming infected with HIV from a dentist, doctor or other health care worker.
In the case that launched the clamor over the issue, federal investigators recently concluded that a Florida dentist most likely infected five of his patients through poor sterilization procedures or other lapses in infection control practices.
Ben Schatz, who runs the Medical Expertise Retention Program in San Francisco for HIV-infected doctors, noted that sloppy infection control practices can spread the virus from one patient to another whether or not the dentist or physician is infected. Prevention efforts should focus on improving those practices rather than testing health workers, he said.
In a letter sent to the Oakland dentists yesterday, District Attorney Arlo Smith noted that it may take up to six months after infection for a person to test positive. "There is, therefore, no means available by which a patient can be assured that his or her health provider is free of the infection, a claim which is clearly implied by your advertisement," wrote Smith.
Assistant District Attorney David Moon said Smith would pursue the case further if the dentists ran the ad in San Francisco newspapers again.
Voyne said yesterday that he does not plan to run the ad again. He acknowledged that poor infection control procedures pose a far greater risk to a patient than a health worker's HIV status, but he said that he hoped the ad would encourage frightened individuals to seek dental treatment.
"People are neglecting dental health out of this fear, and if they feel better knowing whether their dentists are HIV negative, then I feel comfortable telling them," he said.
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