Recent data from the Canadian Cancer Society states that nearly 5,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year. The American Cancer Society has quoted approximately 30,000 cases of oral cancer over the same period. With over 23% of these cases resulting in a fatality, there is a clear call to action to add oral cancer screening to your annual health and wellness plan. Fortunately, oral cancer can be diagnosed early with an annual cancer exam.
This exam is especially necessary, given that oral cancer is a pathologic process, which begins by producing no symptoms making it hard to recognize without an exam.
The examination is completely painless. We will look for abnormalities and feel the face, glands, and neck for unusual bumps. We use Dentlight DOE oral fluorescence cancer screening system to highlight pathologic changes, and can "look" below the surface for spots and lesions invisible to the naked eye. DOE SE system uses high power LED illumination and high contrast Fluorescence Viewer for oral exams beyond normal visualization capabilities.
Oral health is all about early detection and prevention
- Fluorescence technology has been proven successful in identifying soft tissue abnormalities.
- DOE SE provides dentists an X-ray vision to easily identify abnormal tissue that might develop into oral cancer through the contrast of green healthy fluorescence and dark abnormal tissue.
- It is pleasant and fast with no need of rinsing the mouth.
Some of the signs that will be investigated are red patches and sores. Red patches on the floor of the mouth, or the front of the tongue, and the bleeding sores which fail to heal, can be indicative of cancerous changes. Leukoplakia is a hardened white or gray, a slightly raised lesion that can appear inside the mouth, and maybe cancerous. Signs of these will be examined as well. Finally, soreness, lumps, or the general thickening of tissue anywhere in the throat and mouth can signal pathological signs and will be examined.
