Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: Jaleesa Baulkman for DailyMail.com Your dentist may be interested in more than just your flossing habits, but for a good reason. Dentists and dental hygienists are being encouraged to assess patients' risk of developing oral cancers from HPV, the most common sexually-transmitted disease. According to experts, they will likely skirt around the topic of their patients' sex life and ask about potential symptoms of cancer like jaw pain and swelling. But a new report published in the Journal of the American Dental Association insists it is imperative that dentists to play a more active role in detecting the disease, which is linked to seven types of cancer. 'What we're going to find over time is that HPV is going to be a more common cause of cancer over time,' Ellen Daley, a public health professor at the University of South Florida, told Daily Mail Online. 'We need to worry about how to prevent it.' HPV is responsible for about 70 percent of oropharyngeal cancers in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common sexually transmitted infection in the US, it affects more than half of American adults. In fact, Dr Daley says it's as common as the common cold. However, asking about a patient's sex life isn't necessary to preventing HPV-related oral cancers. 'If [dentists] want to [ask patient's about their sex life], they can, Dr Daley explained. 'But that's not relevant since HPV is so common. We need to get [...]