Dentist leaders call on JCVI to back blanket HPV vaccinations

Mick Armstrong, chair of the BDA, wrote to the committee ahead of its meeting to make the case for universal vaccination.

Dental experts have highlighted that HPV is emerging as the leading cause of oropharyngeal cancer, especially among young people, and that rates are rising steeply overall. It is linked to five per cent of all cancers worldwide, including some that affect only men. Dentists are often the first to spot the tell-tale signs of oral cancer.

Currently, only school-age girls are covered by the vaccination programme. A recent survey conducted by the BDA showed 97 per cent of dentists would back a gender-neutral approach.

Campaign coalition HPV Action estimates the cost of extending the programme amounts to around £20m a year – a fraction of the treatment costs of conditions caused by HPV.

Mick Armstrong said,"It is heart-breaking to see the impact oral cancers can have on our patients, when prevention could be so cheap and easy.