Assessment of awareness of human papillomavirus infection impact on oral cavity among patients

Introduction
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for oral cavity lesions such as squamous papilloma, multiform epithelial hyperplasia, condylomata acuminata, giant cell fibroids or squamous cell carcinoma.

Aim
To assess the patients’ awareness of HPV infection’s impact on oral health.

Material and methods
This was a prospective study of dental patients who were treated in the Department of Oral Surgery at the Medical University of Gdañsk (Gdañsk, Poland) from January to February 2019. Inclusion criteria were as follows: Polish-speaking patients over 18 years old. Exclusion criteria were as follows: people with limited Polish language knowledge and under 18 years old. Participation was voluntary based on the written consent. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were computed and the p-value was set at ≤ 0.05.

Results
Three hundred and sixty-three people (58.13%: females; 41.87%: males; mean age 21 years, range: 18–65) were included in the study. Women were more aware what HPV was (p = 0.011), the fact that HPV infection could be latent (p = 0.018), responsible for the oral cancer (p = 0.032), there was an HPV vaccine (p < 0.001), and how to prevent infection (p < 0.001); relationship between age and the fact that HPV infection may be responsible for the oral cancer (p = 0.007), HPV infection methods (p < 0.001), characteristics of the lesions caused by the HPV on the mucous membrane (p < 0.001), and how to prevent infection (p = 0.044).

Conclusions
Our study suggests that patients’ awareness of the influence of HPV infections on oral health is limited. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the education of the patients and to prevention programs.