BILLINGS - Dentists and oral healthcare providers around the nation and here at home are using the latest technology to better detect oral cancer called The Velscope System.
According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, 50% of people diagnosed with oral cancer are expected to die within five years, but if caught early, 90% of cases are curable; and that is the idea behind The Velscope System.
“It can pick-up areas that are pre-cancerous or cancerous, under the surface of the tissue," said David Mawyer, DDS, Mawyer General Dentistry.
The procedure begins with a routine head and neck screening, and oral check. "We're looking for any knots, lumps or enlarged lymph nodes…and any white or red lesions or areas in the mouth that don't wipe off with a gauze are potentially cancerous,” said Doctor Mawyer.
Next comes the Velscope, which sees what the human eye cannot using fluorescent light.
"Pre-cancerous or cancerous tissue will not fluor-ess like normal tissue and that's how this can pick-up areas that we wouldn't pick-up with our naked eye,” explained Doctor Mawyer.
Under the scope, healthy tissue glows a green-apple color. The non-invasive procedure takes about three minutes and makes it possible for dentists to accurately identify tissue changes at and below the surface before they become apparent.
“There has been a technology that we've had for a year and a half where you have the patient rinse with acidic acid or vinegar and then you stick a little light wand in their mouth and look around, but I found that a little difficult to read," he said.
Doctor Mawyer said he has one patient that the Velscope recently identified a suspicious spot that will now be biopsied.
The Velscope System is not the only way to detect oral cancer, regular visits and screenings by your dentist remain the standard of care.Having an oral cancer screening with The Velscope System costs $25, with a regular cleaning.