Just got the test results back. Negative like you said!
It has helped a lot! Thank you Doctor!
Welcome to the forum.
You correctly describe your fear as irrational.
There is only one known case of HIV transmission in a dental office, back in the early days of AIDS (before 1990, as I recall). The dentist died of AIDS before the mystery was formally solved. However, the clear probability -- and the consensus of experts at CDC and elsewhere who knew the details of the case -- is that the dentist intentionally injected his own blood serum into the young women who develop HIV and died of AIDS. Nobody else has ever been known to catch HIV from a dental procedures. That includes the case a few months ago, when there was news about a dentist sanctioned for poor technique in sterilization: none of the dentist's patients has been reported to have acquired HIV or other blood borne infection (hep B or C).
As for your symptoms, HIV doesn't cause nasal drip. It can cause sore throat, fever, muscle aches, and certain other "flu-like" symptoms -- those symptoms do not include nasal congestion, drip, or "sinus" symptoms, or cough.
In other words, your anxiety over your HIV test results is unfounded both on the virtual impossibility you were infected, and on account of your symptoms, which did not suggest an HIV infection.
Assuming you aren't otherwise at risk for HIV on account of your sexual lifestyle, drug use, etc, you definitely can count on a negative result of your HIV test.
I hope this has helped. Best wishes-- HHH, MD