Oral cancer awareness.
Exposure to the human papilloma virus through oral sex has become the fastest growing risk factor for oral cancer – affecting unprecedented numbers of otherwise healthy young people in their twenties and thirties.
Abstract
It is estimated that 42,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with oral cancer in 2013. Many of these cases will not be caught until the cancer is already well advanced. According to the National Cancer Institute, over 40% of those diagnosed will die within five years. Regular screenings as part of routine dental exams are the best line of defense. In the past, this life-threatening disease primarily affected people over the age of 40 who had a history of smoking and tobacco use. Today that has changed. Exposure to the human papilloma virus (HPV) through oral sex has become the fastest growing risk factor for oral cancer – affecting unprecedented numbers of otherwise healthy young people in their twenties and thirties.