Oral Cancer Detection
Renée and I always perform a standard cancer-screening exam at each visit. This includes visual inspection of the oral cavity and throat as well as manual palpation of significant extra oral structures.
In addition, we offer the ViziLite Plus cancer-screening program. I feel it should be part of every re-care exam. Please read the following text. The statistics are sobering. Ask us to include this test as part of your next check-up.
ViziLite Plus Cancer-Screening
Oral cancer is one of the most curable diseases when it’s caught early. That’s why your dentist performs an annual ViziLite Plus exam, in combination with a conventional visual examination. ViziLite Plus uses technology that has been proven successful in identifying precancerous and cancerous abnormalities.
ViziLite Plus helps us identify oral lesions at their earliest stage of development. When premalignant lesions or early stage oral cancer is found, treatment is simpler, less invasive and more than 90% successful.
Are you at risk for oral cancer?
Virtually everyone is.
Increased Risk:
Patients age 18-39 without lifestyle risk factors Sexually active (HPV16/18)
High Risk:
Patients age 40 and older without lifestyle risk factors
Highest Risk
Patients age 40 and older with lifestyle risk factors (tobacco use/alcohol consumption)
Patient with history of oral cancer
News you can’t ignore: one American dies every hour from oral cancer.
The American Cancer Society estimates a 5.5% increase in new cases of oral cancer and a 1.5% increase in deaths associated with oral cancer.
If you think you aren’t at risk for oral cancer, think again: 25% of oral cancers occur in people who don’t smoke and have no lifestyle risk factors. Virtually everyone is at risk for oral cancer, including you. That’s why we recommend a simple, potentially life-saving screening exam: an annual ViziLite Plus exam. If you are sexually active, here’s another reason to think about oral cancer.
The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is an extremely common sexually transmitted infection and especially prevalent in young adults. Few people even know they have it. HPV has long been known to cause cervical cancer and now studies suggest it also plays a role in more than 20% of oral cancer cases.
ViziLite Plus is a simple technology that assists dental professionals in the early detection of oral abnormalities including premalignant lesions and oral cancer.
Quite simply, early detection can save lives. When oral cancer is found early, treatment is 90% successful.
The ViziLite Plus exam improves the examiner’s ability to identify, evaluate and monitor abnormal areas that are difficult to see under conventional lighting.
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