Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2025
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Journal of the California Dental Association
Volume
14
Issue
53
DOI of Original Publication
https://doi.org/10.1080/19424396.2025.2460754
Date of Submission
September 2025
Abstract
Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination can prevent HPV-related illness and associated cancers, including oropharyngeal. The safety and efficacy of HPV vaccination has been well-established, but national HPV vaccination rates remain unacceptably low with persistent disparities for certain populations. While vaccination has been one of the biggest public health accomplishments of the last century, vaccine hesitancy continues to grow in the United States, and remains a challenging element of low HPV vaccine uptake.
Description: Oral health providers have been traditionally siloed and largely uninvolved in vaccination counseling and administration, but the COVID-19 pandemic brought oral health providers, pharmacists and other allied professions together to join in disease prevention efforts. Over 70% of oropharyngeal cancer cases are caused by HPV, placing oral health providers in a unique and critical ethical position to join in HPV prevention efforts by recommending the HPV vaccine to patients and directly administering the vaccine when appropriate. This discussion aims to (1) educate oral health providers about HPV and oropharyngeal cancer, (2) provide concrete strategies and resources for incorporating HPV prevention into clinical dental practice, and (3) discuss the challenges of patient vaccine hesitancy and opportunities for patient education.
Rights
© 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Recommended Citation
Cloidt, M., Vivo, S., Thelen, A., & Naavaal, S. (2025). Role of Oral Health Providers in Supporting HPV-Related Cancer Prevention in the Dental Setting. Journal of the California Dental Association, 53(1), 2460754.
Is Part Of
VCU Oral Health Promotion and Community Outreach Publication