By Dr . Linda Himmelberger , PDA President 2006-2007 , ADA Trustee 2017-2021
SPOTLIGHT
Dr . Linda Himmelberger
It was the mid-80s , about 1987 or so . Dr . David Acer , a general dentist practicing in Jensen Beach , Florida was making news , accused of intentionally infecting six of his patients with HIV / AIDS . At the time , it was believed that none of the patients had any other known risk factors for contracting HIV / AIDS , and the press was having a field day , stoking the fires of patients ’ fears about seeking dental treatment and potentially acquiring this deadly disease from their dentists . At the time , a diagnosis of HIV / AIDS was a death sentence – none of the lifesaving antiviral medications had been developed and the causative virus had only been identified a few years earlier . Initially thought to only infect gay men , drug users and Haitians , it ultimately became apparent that the world was dealing with a pathogen that was transmitted primarily through blood and other bodily fluids .
Suddenly , dentists were on the hot seat . Much like the response to the current COVID-19 pandemic , scientists , policymakers , and researchers struggled to find answers and to develop protocols to prevent the spread of the virus . OSHA promulgated new protocols for dental offices , requiring the use of gloves , masks , safety goggles and gowns , and mandating new requirements for sterilizing instruments , including handpieces . The need for disposable ( not reusable !) chairside suction tips and saliva ejectors skyrocketed . There were shortages of gloves and some dentists and dental team members developed career-ending contact or respiratory allergies to latex . Manufacturers scrambled to make gloves in sufficient quantities and to develop alternatives to latex gloves and other dental products containing latex , such as rubber dams .
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