Poor oral hygiene may have detrimental health effects beyond cavities and gum disease -- a new study links it with an increased risk of oral human papillomavirus[1] (HPV).


The new research, published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research[2] , shows that poor oral health is associated with a 56 percent higher oral HPV prevalence.


Gum disease specifically is linked with a 51 percent higher oral HPV prevalence and dental problems are linked with a 28 percent higher prevalence of infection, the University of Texas Health Sciences Center researchers found.


"Although more research is needed to confirm the causal relationship between oral health and oral HPV infection[3] , people may want to maintain good oral health for a variety of health benefits," study researcher Thanh Cong Bui, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow at the university's School of Public Health, said in a statement. "Oral hygiene is fundamental for oral health, so good oral hygiene practices should become a personal habit."


The study is based on data from 3,439 people between ages 30 and 69 who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Data on the study participants' HPV status was evaluated, including whether they had 19 low-risk types of HPV (which don't cause cancer, but may cause warts or benign tumors) or 18 high-risk types of HPV (which can cause cancer) in their oral cavity, as well as several barometers of oral health.


Oral sex, marijuana-use, cigarette-use and being a male were all identified as HPV risk factors. But researchers also found that poor oral health was independently a risk factor for infection.


Researchers noted that wounds provide a "portal" of sorts for HPV infection to occur in the mouth. Therefore, "poor oral health, which may include ulcers, mucosal disruption, or chronic inflammation, may increase susceptibility to and infectiousness of HPV," the researchers wrote in the study. "Further research is needed to explore the pathologic mechanisms of oral health and oral HPV infection."



While cervical cancer is the most common HPV-associated cancer for women, oropharyngeal cancer is the most common HPV-associated cancer[4] for men, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A recent study published in The Lancet also described males (single males in particular) and cigarette-users as having higher oral HPV risks[5] . Other known risk factors for HPV infection[6] include having a high number of sexual partners, having a weakened immune system, coming into contact with warts caused by HPV, and having damaged skin where HPV can enter in, according to the Mayo Clinic.



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  • An Abnormal Pap Test Means You Have High-Risk HPV


    Pap tests are the commonly accepted screening to prevent cervical cancer. A doctor scrapes a cell culture from a woman's cervix and then examines the cells for signs of abnormality. But just because a few of those cells appear abnormal, requiring further screening, doesn't necessarily mean that you've got a cancer-causing strain of HPV -- that's only one potential cause. "The difference could be due to local irritation, a non-HPV infection, a low-risk HPV type, or even a mistake in the preparation of the cell sample," writes the American Sexual Health Association.




  • Condom Use Prevents HPV


    HPV is passed via skin contact, rather than bodily fluid. For that reason, condoms can <em>lower</em> the risk of the disease, but they are not a sufficiently preventive measure, as they are for viruses like HIV and bacteria like gonorrhea.




  • Oral Sex Is Safe From Cancer Risk


    While the HPV-cancer connection most often relates to cervical health, a 2011 <em>Journal of Clinical Oncology</em> study found what doctors have long observed: There has been a surge in HPV-associated oral cancers. In fact, between 1988 and 2004, <a href="http://nyp.org/enews/oral-sex-hpv.html">HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers rose 225 percent</a>. Oral sex is the primary culprit, making cancer screening of the mouth and esophagus another important test while visiting the doctor.




  • HPV Vaccine Means I Don't Have To Worry About Cervical Cancer


    The HPV vaccine protects against four strains of the virus that are most often associated with cancer and genital warts, but that doesn't mean it prevents cancer entirely. One concern within the medical community is that the vaccination will <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3104818/">provide a false sense of security</a> and prevent innoculated men and women from receiving regular cancer screening. "Clearer information is needed concerning the incomplete protection offered by the vaccine, and that cervical screening will still be required," wrote a group of British public health researchers in the <em>Journal of Medical Screening</em>.




  • HPV Is A Serious, Life-Long Condition


    About 90 percent of HPV infections <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/surv-manual/chpt05-hpv.pdf">are resolved by the body's immune system</a>.




  • Genital Warts Can Be Pre-Cancerous


    Some strains of HPV (<a href="http://www.ashastd.org/std-sti/hpv/myths-and-misconceptions.html">"low risk" types 6, 11, 42, 43 and 44</a>) cause benign growths known as genital warts and other strains (types 16, 18, 31 and 45) cause cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, or an area called the oropharynx, which includes the back of the throat, the base of the tongue and the tonsils. But that doesn't mean that one leads to the other -- genital warts, <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv.htm">which affect about one percent of the sexually active U.S. adult population</a> -- do not lead to cancer.




  • The HPV Vaccine Is For Girls


    The first HPV-preventive vaccine on the market, Gardasil, was approved by the FDA for use in girls in 2006 and <a href="http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/ucm187003.htm">in boys three years later</a>. What's more, there are <em>two</em> FDA-approved vaccines for girls and women: Gardasil and Cervarix; while only Gardasil is available to boys and men. Still, HPV vaccination is the responsibility of all. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics both recommend the vaccine for boys for two primary reasons. First, inoculated boys will not be vectors for the disease, which can contribute to herd immunity and prevent dangerous infection in women. But more, the incidence of HPV-associated cancers that affect men is also growing, including anal and penile cancer and cancers of the mouth and throat.




  • Girls Who Receive An HPV Vaccine Will Be More Sexually Active


    <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1206813,00.html">Despite initial hand-wringing</a> that the vaccine could lead to promiscuity, a study of adolescent girls -- both those who had been inoculated and those who hadn't -- found no evidence that those who received the vaccination engaged in riskier behavior: they were no more likely to contract an STI, become pregnant or even seek out contraception -- a measure of intended sexual activity. "HPV vaccination in the recommended ages was not associated with increased sexual activity–related outcome rates," <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2012/10/10/peds.2012-1516.abstract%7CSexual">the researchers wrote</a>.