There are always risks, you just have to decide where your acceptable risk levels are.
I have read up alot and while there is still exposure issues with BBBJ they are much less. In talking with Dr's and reading up I have found the mouth to have certain properties that don't really help the STD if a gent has some in pre, to transfer unless you are doing DT. Basically the STD has to come in contact in an amount that makes it transferable into the throat. For me if someone is a leaker, it is likely he may be covered or I will be continually spitting and not going as deep to protect that from happening. It is the nominal risk I am willing to take as a provider to provide the services I enjoy. Is there risk? A little but in all my almost 15yrs I have not gotten an STD in my throat, so I feel pretty safe with that choice but not willing to take a greater chance with actual CIM since it raises chance of transmission substantially which is well documented.
As far as DATY, there are other reasons for kissing and visual inspection at the beginning that we do of the mouth to makes sure you are ok to go there. I also tend to hint about tooth brushing or mouth washing if someones breath seems really minty, since our mouth heals quickly but brushing causes micro tears in your gums healthy or not and should never be done right before a session. Mouth wash I consider safe and use personally before session just to clean any bacteria from it. If it is hinted that a gent brushed right before then generally I will keep him busy in other ways so that DATY is not an issue or even longed for till it is maybe mentioned at the end as not having happened. We can visually tell is you have a canker sore on your mouth(kissing we can sometimes tell if you have one in mouth), and again, I will keep you busy with other things. Again, in my almost 15yrs I have not gotten anything down stairs STD wise.
About the worst has been bacterial or yeast imbalances due to gentleman not washing their hands after entry and sticking then into the kitty, but those just require a few days off and some meds to reorganize the very easily disrupted conditions that keep the kit kat healthy which are a disruption internally and not something that is on going or infective. Trust me there are alot of things that go into making sure things stay nice and healthy downstairs and 1 of them is everyone being clean and freshly washed. Really wish more guys would wash hands on entry, it makes me much more relaxed.
These are the best we can do, and the best I do to keep you all safe as well as myself. I hope that this explained a little further. I don't voice about somethings and do another because I am a hypocrite but more that I read alot of info from the CDC and Dr's sites to determine where my own limits are. With Sex it really pays to be informed.
BTW, visial inspection goes on downstairs too... If anything looks wart like umm, cover please... Why? Because women have developed HPV/warts in their throat to the point they could not swallow and has developed into cancer. Another good argument for no CIM since if you are inactive the STD is still more concentrated in blood and semen, not dormant... Again, I just like to be informed and make sure personally that as few people are at risk as I can get. I would feel horrible if I gave someone something and they in turn gave it to another causing issues all around.