Oncogenic high-risk human papillomavirus in patients with full denture

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) has considerable tropism for epithelial and mucosal tissues and can therefore be found in several anatomical sites, including the oral cavity. This study aimed to investigate the presence of HPV-DNA and the most frequent viral types in patients using full dentures, compare to patients not using full dentures and to associate its presence with socio-epidemiological and behavioral factors. The study consisted of 90 patients with or without full dentures at the time of collection, treated at a public dental clinic. The samples were obtained by exfoliating the oral cavity, and analyzed for HPV-DNA using the nested PCR with PGMY09/11 (450-bp), and general primers GP5+/GP6+ (150-bp). Genotyping was performed by specific-type PCR to HPV 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, and 45; and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP). Pearson's Chi-square test (x 2 ) or Fisher's exact test were applied and significant variables in these tests were analyzed by multinomial logistic regression analysis to estimate odds ratio (OR). HPV-DNA was detected in 27.7% of samples and, among those obtained from patients using full dentures, positivity for HPV-DNA was 41.9% (p = 0.025). The most frequent viral types were low-risk HPV 6 and 11, and high-risk HPV 31 and 45. Patients who used full dentures had an odds ratio of 2.1 to be positive for HPV DNA. Our results indicate the need for periodic dental follow-up of patients with full dentures in order to preserve the basic conditions of oral health, and also to monitor the appearance of lesions with malignant potential.