It’s been a long winter, but spring has finally arrived. The days are not only getting longer but they are getting warmer, too.
April brings with it a “to-do” list. It’s time to begin cleaning up from the long and enduring winter both inside and outside of our homes. It’s also a time when we should be thinking about planning a visit to the dentist because April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month.
Many people are not aware that oral cancer is on the rise. Approximately 43,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnose with oral cancer this year. It will cause over 8,000 deaths. That’s one person per hour, 24 hours per day. Oral cancer is a silent killer and everyone is at risk.
While smoking and tobacco use are still the major risk factors, the fastest growing segment are young healthy nonsmoking individuals. This is due to the fact that HPV (Human Papilloma Virus), a sexually transmitted virus, its a leading cause of oral cancer.
It has been shown to increase the risk of oral cancer. It can be spread through intercourse, oral sex and even just open-mouth kissing. Most Americans will have some version of HPV in their lifetimes and even be exposed to the cancer-causing strains. The five-year survival rate of oral cancer patients is about 50 percent. If the cancer is detected early before it spreads or metastasizes, the cure rate goes up to 90 percent. So early detection is important.
Oral cancer usually begins as a sore in the mouth. It usually develops on the tongue or lips but can occur anywhere. Mouth sores are fairly common and they do not always indicate oral cancer, but those sores that do not go away after two weeks are a cause for concern.
Dentists are qualified to check for oral cancer and are usually the first ones to spot oral cancer. However, not all cancer lesions are able to be seen with just the naked eye alone. That’s why we at Two Rivers Family Dentistry have added Velscope to our oral cancer screenings. Not only do we provide free oral cancer screenings in April, like some dentists may advertise, but we offer it to our patients all year long.
We are determined and committed to detect oral cancer at its earliest stage. The death rate for oral cancer is particularly high, not because of its difficulty to diagnose, but due to it being routinely diagnosed late in its development.
The Velscope exam that we provide at Two Rivers Family Dentistry is a quick and painless screening tool that helps us see what we can’t with the unaided eye. In conjunction with the head and neck exam we can screen for early signs or oral cancer.
With Velscope’s distinctive blue-spectrum light, it causes the soft tissues of the mouth to fluoresce in a natural way. Healthy tissues will fluoresce in distinctive patterns. Using Velscope, a wide variety of oral abnormalities can be discovered and often before they are visible to the unassisted eye.
Come visit us at Two Rivers Family Dentistry. This exam takes less than a minute and can save lives. Our goal here at Two Rivers Family Dentistry has always been to provide the latest technology so that we can provide the optimum level of oral health care.
Give us a call to set up you appointment for your oral cancer screening. You can also visit our webpage at Tworiversfamilydentistry.com or our Facebook page to schedule an appointment online.
One minute may save your life. Oh, by the way, it is April so maybe you want to set up for your “Spring Cleaning,” too. See you soon.
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