Velscope: The Future of Oral Cancer Screening in Dental Practices

Cancer is a deadly condition that we choose not to think, let alone, talk about. Sadly, we live in times, when oral cancer has been ranked as the 11th most common cause of death worldwide. When detected early, oral cancer survival rates can improve by about 25%. In order to serve our community better, we have introduced VELscope® Enhanced Oral Cancer Assessment System in our practice. Let us understand how this technology has become a game-changer in the field of oral cancer screening in Dundas, ON.

What is oral cancer screening?

Oral cancer screening Dundas, Hamilton is used to detect any premalignant condition or any signs of cancer in your mouth. The cells inside the mouth don’t turn into cancer in a single day. There are some stages before a normal cell becomes a cancerous one. The premalignant stage is when the cancer has not formed but if the condition is not treated or attended to it may proceed to become cancer. This is when an oral cancer exam helps.

There are conventional techniques for identifying any precancerous condition which includes a thorough inspection of the mouth through the naked eye. During the inspection, your dentist will be looking for any white or red patch or a wound that has not healed even after a week or two. Most of the time, your dentist may find out any unusual changes during regular dental checkups.

Other than inspection, your dentist may use the method of palpation to feel if there are any lumps or swelling embedded within the tissues of the mouth.  

After assessing you thoroughly,  if your dentist feels that there is a high risk of cancer, he/she may order additional tests to rule out any possibility of cancer.

How is VELscope oral cancer screening different from the conventional technique?

Here are some reasons why conventional methods are less preferred:

• The conventional technique is time-consuming as the dentist needs to spend some time to closely examine all the areas within the mouth.
• Inspite of being extremely careful, there is always a chance to miss some areas during the examination.
• Only the superficial changes can be appreciated, the changes happening within the cellular level remain obscured.
• By the time, the changes become visible, the cancer may have proceeded into an advanced stage leaving less time for an effective treatment and follow-up.

VELscope® Enhanced Oral Cancer Assessment System comes as a solution to all these problems. 

How is VELscope oral cancer screening done?

In this screening method, your local family dentist in Dundas, Ontario will use a tool to flash a blue light inside your mouth. The areas that are normal and healthy will appear green in color. This is due to the advanced fluorescence technology used in VELscope. The tissues that have undergone any abnormal changes will appear as a dark patch. Although every dark patch may not be cancerous, it gives your dentist an idea to evaluate the area in greater detail with the help of additional tests.

The Final Note

Oral cancer is one of the most common cancers that affects the head and neck region. When detected in an early stage, oral cancer can be managed in an effective manner and improve the quality of life. Preventive measures include steps like cessation of smoking and alcohol consumption, having a balanced diet and regular dental checkups can help in early diagnosis and oral cancer treatment Dundas. VELscope is an excellent device for oral cancer screening that can help in identifying abnormal areas inside the mouth even when the changes are not evident through the naked eye. 

Book an appointment today for VELscope oral screening or give us a call at 647-905-6410.