Dentalcompare
Clinical Director
Shari Roan from the LA Times is reporting today on a new study about Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The article has a great breakdown of the effect HPV has had on oral cancer. Some of my favorite compelling stats.
- 7% - Number of American teens and adults carry HPV in their mouths
- 225% - Increase in oropharyngeal cancer from 1988 to 2004.
- 70% - Number of new cases of oral cancer that can be linked to HPV
So why does all this matter? There are certain strains of HPV that put you more at risk for developing oral cancer. It does not mean is that everyone with HPV will develop oral cancer. It is unclear why one person’s immune system clears the infection, or why another will turn into cancer. As discussed before in past blogs, it is important for docs to actually perform oral cancer screenings on their patients, and important for patients to visit the dentist regularly for these checks. The bottom line is that the problem is not going away, and if anything it is getting worse. The best chance we have at this point is early detection.