Effective January 1, 2012:
Price Increase Regarding Yearly VELscope Exam/Oral cancer screenings
On January 1, 2012, our office will charge an elective flat rate of $25.00/year for all VELscope exams completed. The flat rate will cover all multiple exams completed in 2012 and subsequent calendar years.
Oral cancer screenings are a very important part of the dental visit for the patient. With the advances in modern technology, we are now able to pinpoint the start of a potential problem much earlier in its evolution. The ability to do so is extremely important in being able to treat any issues prior to them becoming a major irreversible problem.
Mortality rates associated with oral cancer have remained unchanged for over 30 years, partly due to the limitations of white light examination of the oral mucosa. This has created a dire need for an improved oral mucosal screening procedure that would make it possible for clinicians to accurately identify tissue changes at and below the surface before they become apparent under white light examination.
In response to such a need, the Vancouver-based company LED Medical Diagnostics Inc. (LED-MD) has developed the VELscope System. It is a technology platform based on the direct visualization of human tissue fluorescence and the changes in fluorescence that occur when abnormal tissue is present.
The VELscope®System Handpiece emits a safe blue light into the oral cavity, which excites the tissue from the surface of the epithelium through to the basement membrane and into the stroma beneath, causing it to fluoresce. We are then able to immediately view the different fluorescence responses to help differentiate between normal and abnormal tissue. In fact, the VELscope®System is the only adjunctive device cleared by the FDA and Health Canada to help discover oral mucosal lesions that might not be apparent or visible to the naked eye.
Certain lifestyle choices can have a great impact on the health of tissues and your overall health in the mouth. If you are a smoker or heavy drinker, make sure to get regular screenings when you visit the dentist.
