Fatima Khattak BDS, FCPS Sadia Paiker BDS, FCPS Syed Muhammad Zaki Mehdi BDS, FCPS Adam Khan Danish BDS, FCPS Muhammad Azhar Sheikh BDS, MSc, FDSRCS, FFDRCS, FDS Muhammad Wasim Ibrahim BDS, MCPS FCPS, OJT
BACKGROUND: The Hepatitis B infection is a universal health issue, which causes considerable morbidity in humans.
Students of dentistry in clinical rotations are prone to risks of HBV transmission. The Dentistry students should be informative
about preventive steps and actions that can hamper the spread of hepatitis B virus.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of hepatitis B vaccination coverage and sero-protective levels of anti-HBs antibody
titers among dental students.
METHODOLOGY: A cross sectional study was undertaken over the course of 6 months i.e. 9th May, 2019 to 9th Nov, 2019
on 130 dentistry students in Foundation University College of Dentistry, Islamabad. Permission was taken from hospital ethical
committee FUCD for the study. Students who received full course of HBV vaccination after recording in a given performa and
who gave consent for testing were sampled for anti-HBs antibody titers.
RESULTS: It was found that out of 130 dental students only 5 (3.8%) have checked Anti-HBs titer levels after full course of
vaccination and 113 (86.9%) students reported to have received three complete doses of hepatitis B vaccine. After estimation
of anti-Hbs antibody levels of 113(86.9%) students, it was found that 34 (30.1%) possessed negative seroprotective level while
79 (69.9%) positive seroprotective level.
CONCLUSION: The study concluded inadequate vaccination coverage among dentistry students where 86.9% students were
fully vaccinated, with considerable reduction in anti-HBs titters found among 30.1% students.
KEYWORDS: Hepatitis B, Anti HBs Titer, Seroprotection, Dental students, HBV transmission, Vaccination
HOW TO CITE: Khattak F, Paiker S, Mehdi SMZ, Danish AK, Sheikh MA, Ibrahim MW. Analysing anti-HBS titer levels
in vaccinated students of dentistry in a tertiary care hospital. J Pak Dent Assoc 2022;31(4):170-175.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25301/JPDA.314.170
Received: 16 July 2022, Accepted: 09 January 2023