Did You Know?
- One North American dies of oral cancer every hour of every day, twice as many lives as cervical cancer.
- When oral cancer is discovered in its late stages, the 5-year survival rate is only 20-30%. By supplementing the white light oral cancer exam with the VELscope system, cancerous and precancerous lesions that might not be apparent to the naked eye are more evident.
- The VELscope system is a leader in fluorescence visualization and is used to conduct more oral cancer exams than any other adjunctive device in the world.
- VELscope exams can be incorporated as part your hygiene exam. The exam taking only 2 to 3  minutes and is completely free of pain or discomfort and does not involves distasteful rinses or messy dyes. |
 Our practice uses the VELscope Oral Cancer Screening System. Along with our conventional oral screening exam, which includes looking inside your mouth for any lesions that might be visible to the naked eye and feeling your neck for any suspicious bumps, we use the VELscope to literally see beneath the surface to detect potentially dangerous growths we might have otherwise missed.
The VELscope exam takes about two minutes as part of a regular hygiene check-up,  involves no pain or inconvenience, and is completely safe. We think you will find the additional cost for this exam to be very reasonable, and may even be covered by your insurance company.
We believe you will appreciate the peace of mind this screening can provide.
More about our Oral Cancer Screening System:
The VELscope system can help us discover several types of abnormal tissue in your mouth. Of critical importance to our patients' health is the ability to aid in discovering oral cancer and precancer. When discovered in early stages, the survival rate of oral cancer can be as high as 80-90%.
Oral Cancer Screening:
Step 1:
The "white light" exam.
First we look for lesions in the oral cavity with the naked eye and uses palpation to feel for any bumps in the neck or face.
Step 2:
The VELscope exam.
The VELscope hand piece emits a safe blue light into the oral cavity, causing tissue fluorescence from the surface of the epithelium through to the basement membrane and in the stroma beneath.
Abnormal tissue, such as dysplasia or cancerous lesions, typically appear as irregular, dark areas that stand out against the otherwise normal, green fluorescence pattern of surrounding healthy tissue.
Step 3: Further Examination
If abnormal tissue is discovered
Surgical biopsy of the suspicious tissue. A small piece of the tissue will be removed and diagnosed by an oral pathologist. |
