To asses a person's risk of developing oral cancer from sexually-transmitted disease HPV, dentists are being encouraged to ask patients about their sex lives, the Daily Mail reported.
This is to help identify potential cancer symptoms like swelling and jaw pain.
Dentists can play a crucial role in spotting the disease that is linked to at least seven types of cancer, according to a report published in the journal of the American Dental Association.
"What we're going to find over time is that HPV is going to be a more common cause of cancer over time," Ellen Daley, a public health professor at the University of South Florida, told Daily Mail. "We need to worry about how to prevent it."
HPV is responsible for about 70 percent of oropharyngeal cancers in the US, according to
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, close to 70% of oropharyngeal cancers is due to HPV. Condoms and dental dams can be used as protective measures against the disease.
A recent study found while, dentists are aware HPV is a risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer, many do not fully know how it causes HPV-related oral cancer.
Therefore, there is a crucial need to have more knowledge about the disease to spot the signs early for a patient to receive treatment.
