EDITORIALS:

‘The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)

No disease has struck with such suddenness and with such serious consequences as AIDS. It has cre- ated serious problems in the delivery of health care and taxes the r~esources of health professionals to as- sist in the prevention of transmission of the virus re- sponsible for the problems.

Most health professional organizations havIe devel- oped policy statements regarding the issues of AIDS. For the most part, these statements contain informa- tion rlegarding the national policies and legal issues, emphasize the need for education of the professions and the public, and discuss ethical and professional considerations.

Many segments of society are involved with the problem, including health professionals, the public, the media, the legislative bodies at the national and

AIDS and the information explosion

During the past 10 years, professional awareness of AIDS and its many implications has risen dramati- cally, to a large extent through the explosion of arti- cles that have a.ppeared in the dental, medical, and lay literature. The subject has many dimensions, and in- formation related to it constantly changes and ex- pands. From time to time workshops and symposiums are held that bring together experts to consolidate in- formation and to develop consensus about various as- pects of the subject. The published results with their bibliographies then become an expedient means for interested persons to be brought up to date.

Endodontics and AIDS

I am pleased to see that this issue of the JOURNAL is devoted to th.e subject of AIDS. Obviously, the more we know about this scourge, the sooner a cure will be developed.

It is perhaps, of historical interest that the first study to document the presence of HIV in the fibroblasts of noninflamed dental pulps of HIV-seropositive pa- tients was reported in the endodontic section of ORAL

state levels, the courts, and the insurance industry. These problems must be faced and reasonable solu- tions found. It is important that the readers of the JOURNAL, on a worldwide basis, be fully informed on all aspects of the problems and possess current knowledge of the diagnosis and management of the oral manifestations of the disease process.

Thisissueof ORALSURGERYORALMEDICINEAND ORAL PATHOLOGY brings together articles written by internationally recognized authorities on many of the oral and maxillofacial problems that the disease pre- sents. It is our sincere hope that these articles will provide our readers with important information to assist them in the accurate diagnosis of the disease and to provide guidelines to the currently recognized therapies.

Robert B. Shira, DDS Editor in Chief

The proceedings of the Workshop on the Provision of Oral Health Care for Patients with HIV Disease held at Western Ontario University on Oct. 11 and 12, 1990, offer current summaries of many important as- pects of AIDS. The editors of this JOURNAL agreed that the publication of these proceedings in a special issue offered an opportunity for the readers of “Tri- ple 0” to be the beneficiaries of this concentrated knowledge and opinion.

H. Dean Millard, DDS, MS Section Editor, Oral Medicine

SURGERY ORAL MEDICINE AND ORAL PATHOLOGY (Glick M, Trope M, Bagasra 0, Pliskin ME. Human immunodeficiency virus infection of fibroblasts of dental pulp in seropositive patients. ORAL SURG ORAL MED ORAL PATHOL 1991;71:733-6). The diagnostic significance of this finding remains to be explored and developed.

Samuel Seltzer, DDS Section Editor, Endodontics

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