As the name, suggests, oral warts are found inside the cavity of the mouth. They can also appear in the areas surrounding the lips. Unlike the other kind of facial warts, oral warts do not appear in clusters. At a given time, a person is likely to suffer from one wart or a few of them inside the oral cavity.

How Do Oral Warts Look?

Unlike the other types of warts, the oral warts are smaller in size. They are rather discrete and are lumpy and rough. These types of warts can be of various shapes. These warts can develop as dome-shaped mounds, which are white or mucosa colored. They can also be flat-topped, mucosa colored or thick frond-like outgrowths.

Signs Of Oral Warts

  1. The main symptom of oral warts is that the inner lining of the cavity of the mouth feels sore. This happens especially when warts grow due to the spread of the infection.
  2.  Oral warts are painless, but touching them with the tongue or food can aggravate the condition.
  3.  In the advanced stages, warts may start to bleed.
  4. The color of warts may vary from light hues to dark brown, in its advanced stages.

Why Do They Originate?

Human Papilloma Virus, commonly known as HPV, is the main cause of these warts. This virus is composed of a DNA with double strands. This virus has almost 100 strains. Among all the strains, only the HPV13, HPV32, HPV2, HPV6 and HPV11 strains are responsible for causing these warts.

How Do They Spread?

Like other types of warts, oral warts are also contagious in nature. The pathogen spreads quickly and infects when it comes in contact with moist and warm skin conditions. Lack of hygiene can be blamed for this. Kissing is also a way by which oral warts spread. Oral warts are commonly seen in people who suffer from low immunity. People suffering from HIV also complain of these types of warts.

Tips To Prevent Oral Warts

The following are some steps that can be taken to prevent oral warts:

  1. Oral warts can be prevented easily by using condoms while engaging in oral sex.
  2. If you are looking to keep oral warts at bay, consider the use of dental dams.
  3. Last but not the least, prevention is better than cure. It is better not to engage in sexual activities with a person suffering from oral wars.
  4. Abstain from sharing the items of personal hygiene, used by an infected person.

The strains of HPV are mainly transmitted via sexual activities. When the infected skin comes in contact with other areas, or in this case, the cells of the mucous membrane of the mouth, it lays the foundation of oral warts.