HPV Vaccines Could Reduce the Risk of Oral Cancer in Women
Posted on 4/15/2016 by Dr. Call
Teens and young women are being increasingly encouraged to get vaccinated for HPV. According to the CDC, nearly 25 million women in the U.S. are infected with some form of HPV, and of those infected, nearly 3 million are thought to have a strain known to cause cervical cancer. Unfortunately, new research has found that cervical cancer isn't the only risk that HPV poses to women's health.
In a recent article published in General Dentistry, researchers examined a connection between HPV and oral cancer. The authors of the study found that oral and oropharyngeal cancers have been linked to high-risk strains of HPV, the same strains that are known to cause cervical cancer.
Therefore, getting vaccinated could also decrease the risk of developing oral cancer later in life as well as fending off cervical cancer and genital warts.
The fact that there is a strong link between HPV and oral cancers make it more important than ever that women visit the dentist at least twice per year.
These exams will check for irregularities in the mouth that could detect a problem when it is still in its early and treatable stages. Women, especially need to take preventative measures when it comes to their oral and overall health, and a dentist can perform a thorough neck and head exam to look for signs of trouble.
In addition to just visiting your dentist regularly, make sure that you keep him informed about changes in your health - both in your mouth and in your body as a whole.
Your dentist should know your medical history to determine if you are at risk for any oral health problems and to know if certain procedures could be dangerous for you.
If it has been awhile since your last dental visit, contact our office to set up an appointment.
Dentist Hillsboro, OR | Dental Blog - Century Dental Hillsboro, OR Jefferson Call, DMD and Dix Densley, DDS believe that the better informed their patients are, the better their decisions about dental care can be. With this blog, they hope to inform and empower our readers in their oral health. - See more Century Dental, 2831 SE Cornelius Pass Rd, Hillsboro, OR 97123, (971) 708-1608, centurydentalllc.com, 5/20/2025, Key Phrases: Dentist Hillsboro OR
Teens and young women are being increasingly encouraged to get vaccinated for HPV. According to the CDC, nearly 25 million women in the U.S. are infected with some form of HPV, and of those infected, nearly 3 million are thought to have a strain known to cause cervical cancer. Unfortunately, new research has found that cervical cancer isn't the only risk that HPV poses to women's health.