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Elevating dental training to prioritize prevention efforts for reducing HPV‐related oropharyngeal cancer incidence
Author(s) -
Nelson Joni D.,
Lubker Irene,
Bowers Leah,
Neville Brad
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of dental education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1930-7837
pISSN - 0022-0337
DOI - 10.1002/jdd.12577
Subject(s) - curriculum , medicine , scopus , medical education , family medicine , incidence (geometry) , medline , nursing , psychology , pedagogy , physics , optics , political science , law
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are commonly recognized in the United States with associations to cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and oropharynx; the incidence of HPV‐related oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) in the United States is on the rise. 1 The aims of this scoping review were to examine the curricula of pre‐doctoral dental students with respect to dental students: (1) awareness of the connection between OPC and HPV; (2) readiness to screen for OPC; and (3) ability to deliver patient education about OPC and its relation to HPV. We also codified published educational materials related to OPC and HPV for pre‐doctoral dental students. Literature searches were performed in PubMed, Scopus, the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (EBSCO), and Dissertation Abstracts–ProQuest. After screening titles and abstracts, we selected 36 articles for full text review. Only articles reporting pre‐doctoral dental training in HPV and OPC were included in the review, which resulted in 15 articles being excluded from the study. Only two studies in this review specifically discussed a curriculum that would involve educating dental students on HPV‐related OPC. This scoping review also found that the majority of existing training opportunities for OPC and HPV are through post‐graduate continuing education. To address these deficiencies, competencies regarding the HPV‐OPC connection should be included within pre‐doctoral dental training programs. As such, we identified four key strategies for advancing HPV‐OPC content within pre‐doctoral dental training curricula.