Five years ago, when actor Michael Douglas candidly revealed that his throat cancer was linked to having oral sex, two things happened.

He made headlines that mortified his family. And he helped publicize the fact that a pervasive, sexually transmitted virus called HPV was unleashing an epidemic of oral cancer among men.

Compared with women, men are more likely to get infected with HPV — including “high-risk” cancer-causing strains. They also are less able to wipe out infection on their own, and more likely to get reinfected. The reasons are unclear.

Your dentist should play a key role in detecting oral cancer.  Having an thorough oral cancer screening is the first step to catching this dangerous cancer early. 

Did you know that Dr. Henley is the ONLY general dentist in Jacksonville that serves on the Head and Neck Tumor Board at Baptist MD Anderson?  The tumor board is a multi-specialty group that works together using the latest in dentistry and medicine to ensure that cancer patients have the best possible outcomes.