Human Papillomavirus-Related Oral Cancer: Knowledge and Awareness Among Spanish Dental Students

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are responsible for a significant part of the global burden of cancer. Epidemiologic studies have shown increasing trends of HPV-related oral cancers worldwide. Dental professionals need comprehensive up-to-date HPV-related information to be able to provide correct advice to their patients. The aim of this paper is to describe knowledge and awareness levels of dental students from Spain on HPV infection, HPV vaccination, oral cancer prevention, and HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer. A survey was distributed to 240 dental students, of which 158 returned it. Most students reported not been vaccinated against HPV (n = 81, 51.3%) and believed that HPV infection was linked to oropharyngeal cancer (75%). Overall, advanced students showed better knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions regarding this issue while novice students showed relevant shortcomings. However, their attitudes in relation to the diagnosis of oral cancer were adequate. These results suggest that there are important HPV-related knowledge deficits among Spanish dental students, which hinders their interventions in oropharyngeal primary prevention efforts. Findings of this study suggest the inclusion and standardization of HPV-related educational information to the dental curriculum.

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