New Technique Allows Screening for Oral Cancer

Each year, over 34,000 American people are diagnosed with oral cancer.  Unfortunately, because it is typically not caught in time, over 25 percent of these people die.  Other patients are left horribly disfigured and suffer from a much lower quality of life due to oral cancer surgeries.  The cancer can affect the teeth, gums, bones, tongue, palate, or other soft tissues in the mouth.  They are most always typified by certain types of lesions.

These lesions can only be seen with special technology.  A tool, known as the Vizilite Plus, was recently introduced to the market.  It helps dentists find signs of oral cancer, by shining a special blue light in and around the mouth.  This light detects abnormalities and sends a reading back to the dentist. The procedure only takes about a minute to perform.

The patient is required to rinse his or her mouth with a special blue dye that will stick to cancerous spots, and appear under a unique light source.  Sadly, only 30 percent of all oral cancers are caught in the early stages, but dentists and oral specialists hope that this technique will allow for much earlier detection, and therefore, a much higher survival rate.

To learn more about this revolutionary new process, and how you can be screened for deadly oral cancers, contact your dentist today.  Catch problems now, before it is too late.