I hope BTChance will provide more enlightening details, but as someone who's been treated for weird stuff on my cervix I can give little info I have.

The pap smear does not test for HPV, it looks for abnormal cells on your cervix. If abnormal cells are found, a test for HPV will be made. However I don't think it matters that much whether the source of the abnormal cells is HPV or something else, it has to be treated anyway, and there is no way to take HPV outside of your body once it's there.

There is a new test around supposedly that is much better than the pap smear but I haven't experienced it personally and am not sure whether it's been approved for mass use.

Pap smears are not totally and do not catch everything. Which is why it is very important to get one every year so that you increase your chance of catching any problem early. Abnormal cells on your cervix, if let to their own nasty thing, might lead to cervical cancer and other cancers in that area. Sometimes they just disappear, too.

Where I'm from, "promiscuity" is not so much of an issue and few people freak out when teenagers have sex. I've always been told that early start of sexual activity is a risk factor. It makes sense: the longer you've had sex, the more chance you have of being exposed to the virus. I don't see it as a moral issue. I encourage you to do the same with your partners, friends, daughters. As others have mentioned, most women who are sexually active have been exposed to HPV. Not all will develop cancer as a result. But it's a virus that's basically omnipresent. Like, by the way, HSV (herpes) that is thought to be present in about 1/6 people if not more. Making it a shameful thing just prevents people from seeking treatment.

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RM: GO GET THAT ULTRASOUND. NOW. You don't want to wait until the funny looking ovaries start behaving funny. If only for that reason: it HURTS terribly. (Think of a man being repeatedly kicked in the balls.......) And the earlier you get them to straighten their act - or are reassured about it - the better.