Since an estimated one person per hour dies from oral cancer, according to the Oral Cancer Foundation (www.oralcancerfoundation.org), screening and early detection of the disease are vital. The good news: Finding oral cancer in the earliest stages has given us a 90% cure rate. The bad news: Half of the 31K patents diagnosed this year will die within five years. Does this mortality rate stem from the fact that finding oral cancer in the treatable stage is difficult, if not impossible, with a traditional exam?
Two products lead the way in detection of oral mucosal abnormalities before they reach the surface: ViziLite, which received FDA approval in 2001, and VELscope, which gained FDA approval in 2006.
ViziLite Plus with TBlue (Zila Pharmaceuticals, www.vizilite.com) requires a pre-exam rinse and is suggested as a complementary procedure for a traditional oral cancer screening. The flavored rinse reveals abnormal cells by chemiluminescence , which basically means that they glow under the blue activation light. ViziLite also provides TBlue solution to mark the lesions so that you can photograph them for insurance and records. An online tutorial and/or official certification are available. For more information, visit ViziLite online or call 1-866.ZilaPro. MSRP is $20-30 per patient, and all components are disposable. Dentaltown featured an article on ViziLite in the September ’07 issue on page 84.
VELscope (LED Dental Inc, www.velscope.com) takes less than five minutes and requires no rinses. Like ViziLite, VELscope uses light for detection of abnormal cells. This product won the REALITY Publishing Award, so it must be good, right? Patient education brochures and a training DVD are available. The product brochure claims that VELscope offers substantial earning potential and per-patient cost is minimal. Visit VELscope online or call 1.888.541.4614.