HPV and Oral Cancer

We don’t just treat teeth at Bear Creek Dental; as practitioners of general dentistry, our Grande Prairie office also provides preventive care for oral pathologies. Recently, there’s been a major change in the landscape of oral cancer as cancers associated with the human papilloma virus (HPV) have outpaced those associated with smoking, and we want to ensure our patients know how to use us as a resource.

There are nearly two hundred known strains of HPV, only nine of which are known to cause cancer, and only one of which is known to cause mouth and throat cancer. The non-cancerous strains of HPV are extremely common, but there is no way of testing for them in the mouth. To complicate matters further, cancer caused by HPV usually occurs far back in the throat, in a region called the oropharynx. This region cannot be tested with standard office equipment used to check for cancer in the oral cavity, though doctors can perform tactile examinations.

Patients need to be aware that abstaining from smoking does not make them immune from oral cancer. Numbness, swelling, and pain in the throat and the region between the ears and jaw are warning signs of an infection, and it’s worthwhile to ask us about throat cancer. Though rates of infection are going up, fatalities are going down as public awareness increases.

Bear Creek Dental is located at Unit 201 10015 102 Ave, Grande Prairie, Alberta, T8v 0z8, Canada. To schedule an appointment, call 780-539-0404 or visit BearCreekDental.CA.