.  

You have certainly been exposed to your prior partner's HPV infection.  Most HPV infections become non-detectable over several years following infection and only3-5% of infections in women persist and go on to cause PAP smear abnormalities.  If you have had HPV in the past, it has given you a degree of immunity to further infection by that HPV type.  Even if you are infected, there is close to no probability that the infection will be deleterious to your health but, future partners, if unvaccinated or if they have not been infected in the past (which is likely if they have had other partners) could become infected.  Regular sexual health check ups would detect infection if present and be manageable.  Further, if you are infected, you are correct that your system will likely clear the infection.

Regarding disclosure, we do not feel that disclosure is essential although is is desirable.  The problem is that the topic is complex and many persons are misled by the misinformation which is so prevalent on the internet  As mentioned above, most unvaccinated sexually active persons will already be infected and thus cannot be infected a 2nd time.  

I hope this information is helpful.  Again, please review other threads on these topics.  While Dr. Handsfield and I differ in our verbal styles, we always agree on the facts of our advice. 

There may be other questions.  If so, you have up to two follow ups which can be used for clarification.  EWH