Did you know that over 45,750 people will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year alone!? Â The death rate for oral cancer is higher than that of cancers which we hear about routinely such as breast cancer and lymphoma. Â Oral cancer kills roughly 1 person per hour 24 hours per day! Â Do you find these statistics as alarming as I do? Why don’t we hear more about this and how to prevent it? That is why I’m writing this blog today. Â We want to get the word out about oral cancer and make sure that YOU are not it’s next victim.
There are a lot of causative factors for the development of oral cancer such as tobacco use, HPV, and heavy alcohol use. Â The best thing that we can do here in the dental office is to offer our patients the latest technology in oral cancer screening. Â If we can detect the potential cancerous cells at their earliest stage of development (during your 6 month dental cleaning for instance) there is an 80 to 90% increase in survival rate. Â
Typically when you come in for your 6 month cleaning and exam, the doctor and/or hygienist will do a visual exam as well as palpate for any abnormalities.  This technique, while effective in the past, has become obsolete given the new technology that is now available.  This is why we made the choice to purchase a Velscope oral cancer screening device and offer it at NO CHARGE to you!Â
The Velscope examination is a non-invasive, painless procedure which takes only a few minutes.  We shine a blue light into the mouth to cause it to fluoresce. This fluorescence helps us to visualize abnormal tissue which may be, or may lead to, oral cancer. We perform this easy procedure at every 6 month teeth cleaning to ensure your mouth is healthy and cancer free! Â
We look forward to seeing you at your next dental visit!
Heather