Dentists Call for Better Sex Education to Raise Awareness of HPV
Dentists have called for better sex education for children and teenagers, to raise awareness of one of the most common sexually transmitted infections, the human papilloma virus, known as the HPV.
A study conducted by the British Dental Health Foundation has revealed that 20% of parents have no intention of talking to their children about issues related to sex, with the results also showing that awareness of HPV is very low. The virus has been identified as a cause of cervical and oral cancer, but it is one of the less well-known infections and the survey revealed that many people were unaware of the link between cancer and HPV.
The results of the poll showed that 42% of respondents were aware of HPV, in comparison to 97% for HIV, 93% for chlamydia and 92% for herpes.
The results of the survey were published in time for November’s Mouth Cancer Action Month campaign, which is due to run across the UK throughout the next month. The campaign is run by the British Dental Health Foundation, in association with Denplan. The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of mouth cancer and educate people about the causes, risk factors and symptoms of the disease.
Experts expect HPV to overtake smoking and drinking as the most significant risk factor within the next decade. It is estimated that 30,000 people in the UK will die from mouth cancer within the next ten years.
Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the BDHF, said that many people are embarrassed to talk about sex but it is important that people are aware of the risks associated with the human papilloma virus.
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