Oral cancer screenings are a vital part of your dental visit. With modern technology, we can now detect potential issues much earlier, preventing them from becoming irreversible. Your lifestyle choices can significantly impact your oral health. If you are a smoker or heavy drinker, it's crucial to get regular screenings during your dental visits. Don't delay, take action for your health today.
We screen for oral cancer with an ultraviolet light that allows us to view issues the human eye can't always detect under normal conditions. Natural tissue fluorescence is caused by “fluorophores” that, when excited by light of an appropriate wavelength (e.g., blue), will emit their own light at a longer wavelength (e.g., green). The resulting fluorescence reveals information about cellular, structural, and/or metabolic activity changes that can be directly related to disease processes occurring inside the tissue.
At Burvant Family Dentistry, we proudly screen for oral cancer using the state-of-the-art VELscope System. It is a powerful, fluorescence-based device that enhances the visualization of oral mucosal abnormalities such as oral cancer and premalignant dysplasia. Unlike other adjunctive devices dentists use, the VELscope system does not require dyes or prolonged testing procedures. In fact, with VELscope, our team can perform examinations during your routine hygiene exam.