A recent survey cited in Epidemic: How Teen Sex is Killing Our Kids by Dr. Meg Meeker (LifeLine Press, $24.95), showed that one out of every five teenagers surveyed believes oral sex is considered "safe sex."

But the following STDs are transmittable through oral sex: herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, chancroid, hepatitis A and the human papilloma virus, (HPV), which causes cervical cancer.

According to Dr. Meeker's book, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are reaching epidemic proportions among teenagers:

• This year, 2 million to 4 million of those infected with STDs will be teens.

• Every day, 8,000 teens will become infected with a new STD.

• Teenagers make up 10 percent of the population but account for 20 percent to 25 percent of all STDs.

• 46 percent of teenage girls contract HPV at their first sexual intercourse.

• One in five Americans over age 12 has herpes.

• Fifteen to 20 percent of all boys will be infected with the herpes virus by the time they reach 18.

Also, a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that using condoms didn't help men reduce risk for herpes.

Because HPV and other viral sites are not limited to genitalia, the use of a condom does not prevent transmission.

Shauna Scott Rhone