HPV and Oral Cancer: What you need to know

HPVWe love to talk about the fun and interesting sides of oral health, but today, there is something much more serious on our minds. We care about the health of everyone in Lexington, and as dental care professionals, we feel it is our duty to educate you on how to be as safe and healthy as you can be. While you have probably heard of the human papilloma virus and oral cancer, most people don’t know that they are linked. Here is some information from Dr. Brewer about the topic. If you have any questions, please feel free to give Brewer Family Dental a (859) 554-4799.

What is HPV?

Human papilloma virus refers to a family of nearly 200 strains that infect the epithelial cells of skin and mucous membranes, such as the inside of the mouth, tongue, tonsils, throat, vulva, vagina, cervix, penis (through the urethral opening), and the anus. HPV is transmitted primarily through sexual contact (oral and genital) and it is one of the most common viruses in the country. According to the CDC, 8 out of 10 Americans will have an HPV infection at some point. However, 99% of HPV infections are cleared up by your immune system without any symptoms or any indication that you were ever infected.

HPV and Oral Cancer

While most of us know HPV as the sexually transmitted infection responsible for genital warts, that represents only a few strains of the virus (usually HPV6 and 11), which are low-risk. What most Lexington folks don’t know is that HPV is also responsible for causing cervical cancer (HPV16 and 18) and oral cancer. In fact, HPV 16 is now considered the leading cause of oral cancer in America. Tobacco use and alcohol consumptions are also major risk factors, but they do not have as much of a proven causative effect on the development of oral cancer as human papilloma virus.

HPV and Dental Health

If you are worried about getting oral cancer, don’t fret! We at Brewer Family Dental have the expertise and the technology to identify any areas of concern, track problems, and make sure that diagnosis happens as early as possible. If you would like to come in for an oral cancer screening from Dr. Brewer, give us a call today!

Sources

http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/facts/
http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/hpv-genital-warts/hpv-virus-information-about-human-papillomavirus
http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/hpv/
http://www.cdc.gov/sTd/stats12/figures/47.htm



from Brewer Family Dental https://dentistinlexingtonky.com/hpv/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help! My Child is Terrified of the Dentist

Image
If you’re the parent of a young child, you know their brains are similar to sponges that soak up everything around them—especially in their first five years, which neuroscientists say is when they’ll do the most learning and developing in their entire life. At this formative time, your child may amaze you with what they notice: your facial expressions, the different tones of your voice, and your habits. If your habits include regular dental visits and an excellent oral hygiene routine, they’ll notice and want to emulate you. If you happen to feel anxious about your dental visits, or you groan when you’ve got to floss and brush, they may synchronize and feel your dread. This could lead to dental fears that stick with them for years—potentially a lifetime! Kids Can Be Courageous If you’re feeling guilty right now, go ahead and put that away as it won’t serve you or your little one. Everyone has some room for improvement, and Coastal Pediatric Dentistry® is here to help show you an...
Read more

Going for the Gold?

Image
On the left is the older allow, on the right the new one that my lab has chosen to use The cost of a penny weight of pure gold is currently $79.53. The cost of a penny weight of pure palladium is $130.6. It used to be that palladium was added instead of gold to the precious metals often used for pfms, but now laboratories are finding that palladium is no longer affordable. The lab that I am using has just changed the formulation of the metal it's using to one that has more gold than palladium. I really do not mind, but metals with more gold are softer and often easier for a dentist to accidentally polish off delicate margins. It is important when polishing "higher gold" formulations to exert less hand pressure when performing the final polishing of the crown's margins. Other wise there should be no problem with this change. Traditionally labs have chosen alloys with higher gold percentages for optimal esthetics, since alloys with higher concentrations of ...
Read more

Lemon Juice – The Good, the Bad, & the Sour

Image
In a great tale of opposites, lemon juice can be both acidic and basic, or alkaline. Read on to find out why people are talking about this, and what it means for your oral and overall health . What is pH and why does it matter? Drinking lemon juice (usually diluted in a glass of water or added to a cup of tea) is a beloved health tonic among fans of natural medicine. Potential benefits include lower cholesterol, lower inflammation in the body, and increased metabolism and energy. Lemon also contains high levels of antioxidants and vitamin C that boost your immune system. On a scale from 0-14, a pH of 7 is neutral (pure water) while numbers below 7 are acidic (unhealthy), and above 7 are basic or alkaline (healthy). Believers in holistic health blame many ailments on the body’s pH being too low or too acidic. Increasing your body’s pH is called “alkalizing.” Lemon juice in its natural state is acidic with a pH of about 2, but once metabolized it actually becomes alkaline with a pH ...
Read more