That’s why we use VELscope Vx.
Each year in the US alone, approx 37,000 individuals are newly diagnosed with oral cancer. If you add throat cancers to the number that number will increase to about 48,000. The death rate from oral cancer is very high; about 43% of those diagnosed will not survive more than five years. While these numbers are definitley alarming, this is directly related to two factors:
Awareness and Early Detection
Awareness
Knowing that lifestyle choices you make, tobacco use, alcohol, and HPV being the most common, are causes of this disease, is part of the process. Avoidance of risk factors greatly reduces your chance of developing oral and throat cancers. Knowing the signs and symptoms is also part of awareness.
Early Detection
Engaging in regular annual screenings to look for signs and symptoms at the dentist office helps ensure early detection. Most oral cancer can be caught early, even as pre cancer. With early detection, survival rates are high, and side effects from treatment are at their lowest. Screenings are quick, painless, and easy. All you need to do is stay up to date on your dental check ups! Your hygienest will use the VELscope Vx at your routine visit to check for any abnormalities.
Signs and Symptoms
- A sore or lesion in the mouth that does not heal within two weeks.
- A lump or thickening in the cheek.
- A white or red patch on the gums, tongue, tonsil, or lining of the mouth.
- A sore throat or a feeling that something is caught in the throat.
- Difficulty chewing or swallowing.
- Difficulty moving the jaw or tongue.
- Numbness of the tongue or other area of the mouth.
- Swelling of the jaw that causes dentures to fit poorly or become uncomfortable.
- Chronic hoarseness.
Please call today to schedule your 6 month cleaning appointment which includes and oral cancer screening. Early detection is the key to fight oral cancer.
