DAMASCUS, Syria: As health workers, dentists are occasionally placed at risk of disease transmission, since they are exposed to bloodborne infections of pathogens such as HIV, TB and Hepatitis B and C. At the same time, however, individuals carrying these conditions possess both a need and the human right to seek dental care. As shown in a recent study from Syria, the intersection of these two perspectives, while we might hope to see surrounded with technical expertise, empathy and tolerance, may in fact be fraught with tension. The study has found that most clinicians working in the capital Damascus actually refuse to treat patients with these diseases.