Raising Awareness: Oral Cancer Awareness Month

Posted on April 26, 2024April 25, 2024 by Abby McMillan

April marks Oral Cancer Awareness Month, serving as a vital reminder of the importance of early detection and prevention in combating oral cancer, a disease that affects millions worldwide. OralDNA® Labs offers the OraRisk® HPV test to aid in identifying individuals at risk. Oral cancer refers to cancer that develops in the mouth or throat tissues, potentially affecting various areas such as the lips, tongue, gums, inner lining of the cheeks, roof and floor of the mouth, as well as the to...

Becoming Comfortable with the Uncomfortable

Posted on April 14, 2023April 6, 2023 by Michael Goldberg DMD

We all need to start somewhere. Think of the first time you put a mirror and explorer into your hands- uncomfortable right? I am going to start with a few stories where I am certain you can relate, followed by a challenge to become comfortable when discussing HPV, a known risk for oral pharyngeal cancer. My son, like many children, was always trying to one-up us. Kids love to do that to their parents. When he was about 11, we were sitting at the dinner table, where we often discussed the ...

What Our Patients Should Know About Oral Cancer & HPV

Posted on April 7, 2023April 3, 2023 by Shelley Brown MEd BSDH RDH

There are over 100 types of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and more than 42 million Americans are infected with types of HPV that cause disease. The CDC says nearly everyone will get a form of HPV at some point in their lives, and about 13 million Americans, including teens, become infected each year1. There are strains of HPV that are more virulent than others which divides HPV into 2 main groups: Low-risk HPV types such as 6, 11, 42, 43, and 44 have a reduced association with cancer but can ...

Side Effects Support LLC

Posted on April 17, 2020May 20, 2021 by Jill Meyer-Lippert RDH

As I started my first job in dentistry, my mother received a breast cancer diagnosis and suffered horribly with oral side effects from chemotherapy. Her pain from severe dry mouth and mouth sores (oral mucositis) was dismissed by her oncology team as “just part of treatments.” She received no guidance on how to prevent or reduce her discomfort and there were no oral care strategies implemented to prevent long-term damage to her dental health. Through questioning other cancer survivors, I le...

Do You Speak HPV? Part 3

Posted on April 19, 2019May 20, 2021 by Kimberly Babauta, RDH, BS, BCPA

In my previous blog, I explored three common positive responses I’ve encountered from patients when offering a test for oral HPV and how I would respond to them. In this blog, I will address some of the objections from patients and how I would further educate the patient about oral HPV and testing options. Patient 1: I don’t think I need that test. I’ve never been exposed. Response 1: I understand but in case you’re ever curious, remember we have this potentially life-saving service ...

Do You Speak HPV? Part 2

Posted on April 12, 2019May 20, 2021 by Kimberly Babauta, RDH, BS, BCPA

Dental clinicians have been on the front lines of oral cancer prevention and early detection for many years. We have been trained to do very thorough oral cancer exams and to use various light systems to visualize tissue changes; however, according to the Oral Cancer Foundation, the death rate for oral cancers has remained higher than that of many other types of cancers which we hear about routinely.1 Many studies support that the human papilloma virus (HPV) is responsible for a large number...

Do You Speak HPV? Part 1

Posted on April 5, 2019May 20, 2021 by Kimberly Babauta, RDH, BS, BCPA

Dental professionals are often uncomfortable approaching patients on topics that are unfamiliar or that feel outside the realm of “traditional” dentistry. One such topic is Human papillomavirus (HPV). As a hygienist of 40 plus years, I can tell you this topic never came up in my education. Several years ago, I had to educate myself about this near epidemic viral infection. Most importantly, I had to step out of my comfort zone to find a way to share this crucial knowledge with my patients...

Oral HPV Awareness Campaign: Part 2

Posted on June 15, 2018May 19, 2021 by Susan Maples DDS

Currently about 72% of all OPCs (Oropharyngeal Cancers) are the results of an oncogenic HPV infection—and very few of these cancers are found in the front of the mouth. HPV-Oral Pharyngeal Cancer (HPV-OPC) develops at the deep base of the tongue or behind of the curtains of the tonsillar pillars. Sadly, there is no effective screening method for early cancer detection. While we fumble with the words to say and the warnings to issue, we are literally watching the HPV epidemic unfold before...

Oral HPV Awareness Campaign: Part 1

Posted on June 8, 2018May 19, 2021 by Susan Maples DDS

As a Total Health Dental Practice, there was one particular oral disease my team was not comfortable discussing—even though it is deadly and its epidemic has escalated to horrific proportions. You guessed it…HPV-related Oral Pharyngeal Cancer (OPC). Don’t get me wrong; our responsibility to complete our 9-point screen for oral cancer is routinely completed. But we knew the screening exam—was completely ineffective in screening for the risk of HPV-OPC. In brainstorming about our weakness, ...

Where Does the HPV Go?

Posted on April 27, 2018May 19, 2021 by Ronald C. McGlennen, MD

The alarming incidence of oral cancer connected to oral infections caused by the human papillomavirus, HPV, should rightly raise concern. For too long healthcare has overlooked the potential of HPV to cause serious disease in the oral cavity, the pharynx and larynx. Fortunately, early detection is key, and there is now a highly sensitive test that can identify early HPV infections called OraRisk ® HPV. OraRisk ® HPV identifies the HPV infection often before any clinical symptoms can be se...