Dear Sexpert,
I grind my teeth when I sleep, which often leaves me with a slightly bloody taste when I wake up in the morning. Also, when I floss, I often find that I get a little bit of blood on the piece of floss. Basically, my gums seem to bleed easily, or maybe they are bleeding slightly all the time. Does this make it more likely that I would contract HIV from kissing someone? Should I just avoid kissing all people unless I'm sure they don't have HIV?
Thanks for the help. — Concerned Kisser
Dear Concerned,
First of all, please go to see a dentist ASAP. If you don't have one already, University Health Services can recommend one to you. Most people floss a little too vigorously occasionally, and end up with a little blood on their minty Oral-B, but constant blood could mean either that you are flossing incorrectly or be a symptom of gum disease. Grinding your teeth is also not so hot for your pearly whites. A consistent night grind (no, not that kind of grind — focus, please) can cause harm to your jaw, loosen or wear your teeth down and cause headaches. It can also exacerbate the gum disease that you might already have. So to repeat: get to the dentist, stat.
Now, on to the good stuff. Despite recent controversy in the political sphere, medical evidence suggests that contracting HIV through saliva alone is highly unlikely, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that it has never been shown to result in the transmission of HIV. This could be because saliva contains proteins which negatively impact the infection abilities of HIV. Since we are all so (rightfully) terrified of contracting HIV, we often forget that the HIV virus, while undeniably deadly, is also very fragile. Transmission is harder than we may think.
Gum disease or other oral sores do weaken your body's defenses against all infections, however. It is therefore theoretically true that if you have gum disease or another opening in your mouth and you kiss someone who is infected with HIV, who happens to be bleeding, you are at a greater risk of contracting HIV than someone without gum disease or other oral membrane breaches. I say "theoretically," because the CDC has only ever investigated one case of HIV infection which may be attributable to contact with blood which occurred in open-mouth kissing.
That said, engaging in sexual activity is always risky for one reason or another. No matter what your circumstances, it's your responsibility to protect yourself and make informed decisions. While not the sexiest proposition in the world, if you don't know your partner's sexual history, you need to ask. And if you aren't sure about the answer, you have to calculate the risk and make an informed decision. In the case of oral HIV transmission, the risk is minimal, especially if you get yourself to a dentist and get that gum disease cleared up, but only you can decide if it's worth it.
Cheers to personal responsibility and dentists! — The Sexpert
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