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Though people have gradually become more open when it comes to talking about sex, there are still a few topics that have a flurry of misinformation around them. One of those topics is oral sex.
To help you further your sex education, here at some myths – debunked by professionals – that you need to let go of now.
MYTH: You don’t need to incorporate safe sex practices when engaging in oral sex.
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Oral sex has often been counted out when it comes to the safe sex talk. Susan Bard, MD of Manhattan Dermatology Specialists, told INSIDER, however, that this type of thinking can harm our health.
“I treat a fair amount of STIs in my practice and have to do a lot of education on safe sex practices and prevention of STI transmission,” Bard said. “While one can not get pregnant from oral sex, disease transmission from oral sex is not uncommon. I have treated a fair amount of herpes, HPV, syphilis, and gonorrhea in both the mouth and genitals acquired from unprotected oral sex.
“Oral sex is just that, sex. One should always use a barrier method (.ie. condoms or dental dams) when engaging in oral sex to protect both themselves and their partner.”
MYTH: Your oral health isn’t affected.
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When couples have made the decision to engage in oral sex, the thought of what can happen to your oral health is usually non-existent. Forensic sexologist, chief of sexology, and director of the division of clinical research programs at Felnett Health Research Foundation Dr. Damian Jacob M. Sendler told INSIDER that this should be something that you should think about.
“A lot of people theorize around the idea that sperm or any other penile secretions are unhealthy for your teeth,” he said. “Most of the stuff that comes out of the penis is alkaline/slightly acidic. It affects the oral health the way that food would. You want to brush your teeth regardless of whether you gave someone 10 blowjobs or one blowjob. It’s all about taking care of your oral health in there the way you would normally do.”
MYTH: If your partner has any sort of STD and you have oral sex with them, rinsing your mouth out will prevent you from contracting it.
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Whether through oral or penetration, sexually transmitted diseases or infections can and will be transferred to your partner if you are not using protection. Although this should be a known fact, many people are still living on the myth that if you just simply rinse your mouth after oral sex, you’ll be fine. That, however, is far from true.
“Every day I see at least one patient that says that drinking alcohol, or rinsing and washing the body with alcohol, removes all sorts of bacteria and viruses,” said Sendler. “Body secretions can be benign or dangerous depending on their look, taste, consistency. Just because sperm tends to be salty, it doesn’t mean that it repels viruses and bacteria.”
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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