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"&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Question: &amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;How Common Is Teenage Oral Sex?&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Many people believe that teenagers (and adults) do not &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/oral-sex-myth-3132648&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;consider oral sex to be &amp;amp;#34;real sex&amp;amp;#34;&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; and therefore practice it somewhat casually. Others assume that the prevalence of oral sex among high school students is just an urban legend, and question whether or not the &amp;amp;#34;it&amp;amp;#39;s not real sex&amp;amp;#34; myth is actually true. Fortunately, there&amp;amp;#39;s no need to rely on guesses, beliefs, or assumptions. Several studies have looked at how often teenagers have oral sex, and how soon they start having it. Depending on which camp you fall into, it&amp;amp;#39;s either more (&amp;amp;#34;Kids don&amp;amp;#39;t do that!&amp;amp;#34;) or less (&amp;amp;#34;Kids think it&amp;amp;#39;s no big deal!&amp;amp;#34;) than you might think.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Answer: &amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Studies suggest that as many as 20% of adolescents have had oral sex by the end of their freshman year in high school. Furthermore, by the end of their teenage years, as many as two-thirds of young men and women have participated in oral sex with an opposite sex partner.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Unfortunately, due to the fact that &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/support-comprehensive-education-schools-3133083&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;sex education programs&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; often primarily focus on pregnancy risk, many of these teenagers are unaware that &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/is-oral-sex-safe-sex-3133091&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;3&amp;quot;&amp;gt;oral sex can have real risks&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; - both physical and emotional. The risks of teenage oral sex are not as high as those for intercourse or &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/why-its-important-to-have-safe-anal-sex-3133100&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;4&amp;quot;&amp;gt;anal sex&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, but oral sex does put teenagers at risk for a variety of STDs including &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/can-i-get-syphilis-from-oral-sex-3133231&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;5&amp;quot;&amp;gt;syphilis&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/can-cold-sores-give-me-genital-herpes-3132944&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;6&amp;quot;&amp;gt;herpes&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, and &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/does-hpv-and-oral-sex-cause-throat-cancer-3132984&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;HPV-related throat cancer&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;. These risks can be reduced by using barriers for both &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/how-to-give-a-safe-blowjob-3133073&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;8&amp;quot;&amp;gt;fellatio&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; and &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/how-to-go-down-on-a-woman-safely-3133121&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;9&amp;quot;&amp;gt;cunnilingus&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, but many teenagers are not aware that safe sex is even an option for oral sex.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;A national study looking at the timing of oral sex compared to vaginal intercourse among 15-24 year-olds found that around a quarter of young men and women had oral sex first, a quarter had intercourse first, and only around five percent chose to only have oral sex. That percentage was much higher among the 15-17-year-olds who were still in high school. There eight percent of young women and 12 percent of young men had only had oral sex.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;It&amp;amp;#39;s worth noting that having oral sex at a young age may also be a sign of a teenager&amp;amp;#39;s intention to engage in other, potentially riskier, sexual activities such as intercourse. One 2010 study found that students who decided to have oral sex were significantly more likely to also explore vaginal sex during high school than those who refrained from oral sex. Most of them waited less than 6 months.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;Sources:&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;Copen CE, Chandra A,Martinez G. (2012) Prevalence and timing of oral sex with opposite-sex partners among females and males aged 15\u201324 years: United States, 2007\u20132010. National health statistics reports; no 56. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. &amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;Halpern-Felsher et al. (2005) &amp;amp;#34;Oral versus vaginal sex among adolescents: perceptions, attitudes, and behavior.&amp;amp;#34; Pediatrics 115(4):845-851&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;Mosher et al. (2005) Sexual behavior and selected health measures: men and women 15-44 years of age, United States, 2002. Adv Data. 362:1-55&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;Song et al. (2010) &amp;amp;#34;Predictive Relationship Between Adolescent Oral and Vaginal Sex&amp;amp;#34; Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. Published Online Ahead of Print. Accessed Online 11/1/2010&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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