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Dear Dental Professionals and Partners,
The school year is just around the corner. Now is a great time to recommend the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to your pre-teen and adolescent patients.
Dental providers play a unique role in HPV cancer prevention. Pre-teen and adolescent patients tend to see the dentist twice yearly, which may be more often than they see their primary care provider. This is an opportunity for dental professionals to promote HPV vaccination by providing counseling to parents/guardians of children nine years and older about the HPV vaccine and HPV’s link to oropharyngeal cancer, especially with the annual number of oropharyngeal cancers on the rise.
Starting HPV vaccine at age nine is considered best practice by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), American Academy of Pediatrics, and American Cancer Society and complies with ACIP guidelines. Starting at nine provides a robust immune response and results in higher on time completion rates of the two-dose series by age 13, which means more anticipated HPV cancers prevented.
One of the most significant predictors of vaccine uptake is a strong recommendation from a health care provider. Additionally, receiving an HPV vaccine recommendation from multiple sources contributes to increased HPV vaccine uptake. Studies show that dental professionals feel recommending HPV vaccine is within their scope of practice, and most parents believe dentists are qualified to discuss HPV vaccine.
Steps you can take:
- Add a question about HPV vaccine status to your health history questionnaire.
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Educate staff on how to talk about HPV vaccine as cancer prevention.
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Educate parents/guardians and recommend HPV vaccine to your patients nine years and older.
- Place an HPV poster in the waiting room.
- Hand out HPV recommendation goody bag cards.
If parents/guardians are ready to get their child vaccinated after speaking with you about the HPV vaccine, refer patients to their primary care provider, school-based health clinic, or their local health jurisdiction.
Thank you for routinely recommending HPV vaccine and working to keep children and families healthy.
Sincerely,
Washington State HPV Task Force
If you have questions, please contact nicole.rhodes@doh.wa.gov.
Resources to Strengthen HPV Conversations
HPV Dental Goody Bag Card - NEW
Are you serious about preventing cancer? We are!
We created a business card size material that can fit easily into a patient’s take home goody bag! To order this material, follow the link to the card, click “Print business Cards” in the top right.
National HPV Vaccination Roundtable Dental Guide
Cancer Prevention Through HPV Vaccination: An Action Guide for Dental Health Care Providers (hpvroundtable.org)
HPV Vaccine Patient Brochure
English | Spanish | Russian | Ukrainian | Vietnamese | Marshallese
HPV Patient Room Poster
HPV Long Lasting Protection (wa.gov)
Washington Academy of General Dentistry Video
Oropharyngeal Cancer & HPV
American Cancer Society Video
Oral Cancer/HPV Awareness
Additional Resources
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) | Washington State Department of Health
HPV and Oropharyngeal Cancer | CDC
About the Washington State HPV Taskforce
This letter was created by the community outreach workgroup of the Washington State HPV Task Force. The mission of the HPV Task Force is to increase HPV vaccination rates in Washington state, reduce the amount of HPV associated disease, and increase knowledge about HPV and cancer prevention. The community outreach workgroup focuses on interventions from community partners that can increase access to HPV screenings and vaccinations. If you are interested in learning more about the Washington State HPV Task Force, please contact Sahla Suman TE at Sahla.Suman@doh.wa.gov.
References
Harris KL, Tay D, Kaiser D, Praag A, Rutkoski H, Dixon BL, Pinzon LM, Winkler JR, Kepka D. The perspectives, barriers, and willingness of Utah dentists to engage in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine practices. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2020;16(2):436-444. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2019.1649550. Epub 2019 Oct 4. PMID: 31361179; PMCID: PMC7062442.
Stull C, Freese R, Sarvas E. Parent perceptions of dental care providers' role in human papillomavirus prevention and vaccine advocacy. J Am Dent Assoc. 2020 Aug;151(8):560-567. doi: 10.1016/j.adaj.2020.05.004. PMID: 32718485; PMCID: PMC7478858.
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