HPV doesn't cause inflammation (irritation, redness, etc), so your symptoms don't fit with HPV. And undoubtedly some or all among the "several" dentists you have seen have seen plenty of cases of both oral warts and taste bud inflammation, and would have told you if they suspected warts. This also doesn't sound anything like infectious mononucleosis. Finally, oral HPV isn't rare (but actual warts are uncommon), but transmission of HPV by kissing is rare. That you happen to have kissed someone a few weeks before onset of symptoms does not make that event a likely cause of your symptoms.

So all I can do is recommend you continue to work with your dentist(s) and/or doctors about possible causes. You might consider seeking consultation with an oral medicine specialist -- the go-to resource for diagnosis of oral health problems. Oral medicine is a subspecialty of dentistry. Your dentist(s) probably can refer you; or check with the state dental society; or look into OM services at a nearby school of dentistry.

I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

1. Is it true that sharing drinks and utensils is not method of transmission for HPV? I was worried about having shared ice cream spoons with family.

2. Is kissing rarely a mode of transmission of oral Hpv? 

If kissing is rarely a mode of transmission then most people who acquire oral Hpv do so by performing oral sex?

2. See my reply above. Correct -- probably most oral infections are acquired by oral sex. Some but some are unexplained:  there are unresolved mysteries about HPV and its transmission.

I just back from the ENT and she wants to biopsy a couple of things. She's concerned about some growths on the side of my tongue that have been there for months and are spreading. Some new ones popped in the back of my tongue too she's going to biopsy.

1. If this oral HPV, for most of the cases you see, do they clear up within 2 years?  I feel like My dating life is about to be shut down for years. The ENT said the if it is warts they are not going to go away.

2.  If I have Oral HPV, I would assume I have genital HPV? The woman I am concerned about I deep mouth kissed, received oral sex from, and had protected sex with. This person was a high-risk individual.

4. Will the vaccine help prevent future partners from catching Oral HPV from me?

5. For the cases of Oral HPV with warts, have most of the cases you've seen cleared up on their own, or do people have them removed? 

I know im making a lot of assumptions here but I was just hoping some of the answers would put my mind at ease just in case. Im going to remain hopeful and optimistic either way. 

Thanks again!

1. How long after your exposed until you become contagious?

1. I and other STI specialists rarely treat or follow patients with oral HPV. Your ENT doctor undoubtedly has far more experience in this than I do. That said, I don't understand or necessarily agree with "if it is warts they are not going to go away." Most warts are cleared by the immune system over time, and to my knowledge this is true of most oral warts as well. If there is research to the contrary, your ENT doc probably is more knowledgeable about it. (It is possible she is thinking about HPV in general, not warts: some scientists believe all HPV infections are permanent. But warts themselves almost always clear up, even if undetectable HPV persists.)

2. I also am unaware of studies that evaluated the prevalence of genital HPV in people who first come to medical attention on account of oral infection. I'm sure some people with oral warts or other oral HPV infections have genital infections, but I cannot say how common it is.

3. It is easy to understand why hand-genital (or finger-to-mouth) contact might transmit HPV, especially after contacting one's own genital or oral infection, but in fact the available data strongly indicate that transmission of HPV by hands or fingers is very rare, if it occurs at all. This gets into the weeds of epidemiological research, but in busy STD clinics, we rarely if ever see patients with HPV or warts whose ONLY sexual exposures were hand-genital contact or oral sex; for practical purposes, all such patients have had genital or anal intercourse. On the other hand, people with genital warts or abnormal Pap smears who have never had intercourse may be less likely to attend STD clinics for their care -- so my experience may be biased in that way. But the bottom line is that all STI experts are confident HPV is rarely transmitted by oral sex or hand genital contact.

4. Good question. I am unaware of studies that have examined the potential for the HPV vaccines to reduce transmission frequency to partners. But common sense says the risk likely is reduced.

5. As implied above, I do not have enough clinical experience with patients with oral warts to answer this question.

New question 1:  Here again the data are soft. Warts and abnormal Pap smears typically take a few months to show up, and both of these are associated with high (and likely rising) viral load. But whether transmission is likely before warts or abnormal paps develop isn't really known, but I suspect transmission is uncommon for at least a few weeks after acquisition.

Regardless of the course of your oral warts or uncertain status regarding genital HPV, you are not likely to need to curtail your romantic life as much as you seem to think. Many potential partners will have been vaccinated, in which case you (and they) can assume they are immune to your infection. If not immunized, and for a prospective ongoing relationship (disregarding one-time hookups), they will be very well protected within 2 weeks of the second vaccine dose, i.e. after about 6 weeks. Third, some partners just won't care:  not everybody is as concerned about HPV as you might be. Nobody wants HPV or warts, but the fact is that >95% of HPV infections never cause any significant health problem, so many people blow it off, and I can't say I blame them. So although I would advise discussing your HPV infection with prospective partners before having sex, and you'll need to be prepared for rejection, you may find that usually it's not a big deal.

That completes the two follow-up exchanges included with each question and so ends this thread. I hope the discussion has been helpful. Best wishes.