Velscope

 

 

At Family Dental Group, we are committed to the early detection of oral cancer, and are proud to offer new, quick and painless “enhanced” oral cancer screenings. We have always performed visual and manual oral cancer screenings at each dental exam, and have added annual enhanced screenings to better safeguard the health and lives of our patients.

 

Please take a moment to read these facts, and share them with those you care about.

 

ORAL CANCER FACTS

· About 34,000 Americans are newly diagnosed each year with oral cancer, and every hour of every day, one American dies of oral cancer.

· In the past 30 years there has been a 60% increase in tongue cancer in people under 40.

· 43% of oral cancer victims will die within 5 years. Oral cancer survival rates have not improved in 40 years.

· This 43% 5-year death rate for oral cancer in the U.S. is worse than for prostate (0.2%), breast (12%), and cervical cancers (23%), colorectal, Hodgkin’s disease, and cancers of the brain, liver, testes, kidney or ovary.

· Women are three times more likely to get oral cancer than cervical cancer, and oral cancer has nearly double the death rate of cervical cancer.

· The use of PAP smears, a similar “enhanced screening test” for cervical cancers, has resulted in 70-80% reductions in cervical cancer death rates.

· Primary oral cancer risk factors include alcohol or tobacco use (any type), and being age 40 or older. About 75% of all oral cancer patients are tobacco users. Males get oral cancer more than females, and blacks have twice the risk of oral cancer than other races. Other risk factors include long-term sun exposure or a history of red or white patches on the oral tissue. Patients with a history of oral cancer are at highest risk.

· HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) is the most common sexually transmitted disease and causes both cervical and oral cancers. It is responsible for about 95% of cervical and 20% of oral cancers.

· EVERYONE IS “AT RISK”! According to the ADA over 25% of oral cancers occur in patients that do not smoke and have no other lifestyle risk factors. This group is growing, and may be due in part to HPV.

· Oral cancers are usually not diagnosed until Stage III or IV, when they often have already metastasized into another location, most likely the lymph nodes.

· Oral cancers are 80-90% survivable if caught early, yet few are identified in Stage I or II since they usually develop below the surface of the skin.  

VELSCOPE is FDA approved for early detection of cancers and better delineation of them for biopsy and removal. It is considered the best of advanced new technologies designed to help professionals identify abnormalities earlier. Visual and manual oral cancer screenings enhanced with Velscope is a potentially life-saving exam that should be done at least annually for all adults over age 18.  

 

Family Dental Group

320 Kings Highway East

Fairfield, CT  06825

(203) 337-6262

www.familydentalgroup.com