Dentistry LIVE speaker and hygienist Jo-Anne Jones reveals how sex and oral health are intrinsically linked.

Are sexual relations closely intertwined with oral health? It would appear so with the connection between the human papillomavirus (HPV) and oral cancer emerging as a global pandemic. The same viral strain, HPV-16 that is responsible for 70-80% of all cervical cancers, is solely responsible for 85-95% of all HPV related oropharyngeal cancers6. If recent incidence trends continue, the annual number of oropharyngeal cancers related to HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers will surpass annual number of cervical cancers by the year 2020. Among the sites of HPV-associated cancers, the oropharynx is the second most common after the cervix at present.

Acknowledgements: Used with permission of Dental Hygiene & Therapy - March 2012