Beware of Females February?

Mouth Cancer Action Month tried to educate the public on the risk factors associated with oral cancer; tobacco use (smoking and chewing), alcohol (to excess), poor diet, and the human papillomavirus (HPV). The advice was relatively straight forward and in-line with what most patients would already know about living healthily; don’t smoke, don’t drink, eat healthily and… don’t get HPV.

It is important that all risk factors are discussed and patients made aware of the benefit that certain lifestyle changes could have. In last month’s issue one article highlighted how few dentists felt comfortable discussing alcohol use with patients – I wonder how many would be at ease talking over the risks associated with oral sex. I wouldn’t put myself in the ‘prude’ category at all but I must admit to being slightly out of my comfort zone at the launch of Mouth Cancer Action Month. It was slightly surreal being at such a prestigious venue, one of the dining rooms in the House of Commons, with Professor Margaret Stanley from the department of pathology at the University of Cambridge (a lady who is old enough to be my mother) discussing the subject of oral sex. Despite being uneasy at the time, it is certainly an important topic. Professor Stanley was arguing in favour of HPV vaccination of males as well as females. She explained: “The burden of HPV associated cancers is now almost the same in men as in women. Men face a significant and rising risk of HPV-associated disease, and without vaccination men remain at risk. It is not fair, ethical or socially responsible to have a public health policy that leaves half of the population vulnerable to infection. This is why vaccinating men should begin immediately.”