Public Unaware Of Link Between Sexual Health And Oral Cancer

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The Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, warned that public awareness of the link between sexual health and oral cancer is very low.

Dr Carter said that public awareness of sexually transmitted infections in general has improved significantly in recent years, but most people are still unaware of the link between the human papilloma virus and oral cancer. The HPV is a very common infection, which is usually spread through unprotected sex.

Dr Carter said that the HPV is likely to become a major cause of oral cancer in the next ten years, rivalling smoking as the most dangerous risk factor for the disease. The number of cases of mouth cancer has soared in recent years, yet Dr Carter believes that most people are unaware that their sexual habits could increase their risk of developing mouth cancer.

A new survey revealed that only 1 in 4 people were able to identify HPV as a cause of oral cancer and almost half of people did not know that HPV was spread through sexual contact.

Dr Carter added that HPV was a particularly important factor for young people; in the past, mouth cancer tended to affect older people who drank and smoked, but the number of young people affected by the disease has increased considerably in the last five years and this is largely due to exposure to the HPV. Dr Carter said that more needs to be done to inform and educate people about the importance of using contraception and safe sex. If more people are aware of the potential risks of having unprotected sex, thousands of lives could be saved in the years to come.

 

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