From Jerry Sells D.M.D., M.A.G.D.

HIV Testing

In September 2013, I had a AHEC student in my dental office from the U of L School of Dentistry. After he gave an injection to a patient, the syringe was handed to the dental assistant. He grabbed for the suction before the needle was capped and stuck himself with the needle. I called the local health department and talked with them about testing of HIV and hepatitis. They said it would take about 7 days to get the test back from Frankfort and the cost would be on a sliding scale depending on income. Then they told me about a clinic in Paducah that would do the test and get results in 20 minutes at no charge to the patient or the doctor's office and is confidential. Contact information for the clinic is:

Heartland Clinic
619 North 30th Street
Paducah, KY 42001

The name of the test is Oraquick and it is an oral swab test.

Emergency Kit Drugs

Recently, I looked at my emergency medical kit for the office and found that some of the drugs had expired. I called Wal-Mart Pharmacy and found that I could only order these drugs in quantities of 25 or 50 ampules even though I only needed one ampule for my emergency kit.

I then called a company called Southern Anesthesia + Surgical, Inc. Their number is (800) 624-5926. I ordered only what I needed. They will want you to send a copy of your Dental License and DEA Registration Certificate. I hope this helps.