One of the single most important things you can do as a dental professional is alert your patient to the presence of a life-threatening disease.
According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, nearly 50,000 people are diagnosed with oral cancer every year, and the cancer kills one every hour of every day. Unfortunately, that figure is projected to climb. The risk factors include smoking, tobacco chewing, drinking alcohol and the presence of the human papilloma virus, particularly the HPV16 strain. Unfortunately, regardless of whether patients have any risk factors, many do not know they have oral cancer until it is to late.
However, when oral cancer is detected early, a patient’s survival rate jumps from 57 percent to 81 percent.
Those figures make receiving an oral cancer screening during a preventive dental care visit vital. For you, the choice of a device to assist in the screening is equally important. The Bio/Screen Oral Exam Light from AdDent is a tool that is simple to use but highly effective.
The Bio/Screen uses five short-wave violet LEDs that provide Biofluorescence in the oral cavity. The light has an eyepiece with an optical filter that increases contrast between healthy and abnormal tissue. With this tool, you can more easily detect oral mucosal abnormalities in your patient’s mouth.
The Bio/Screen can easily integrate into your practice environment. With this light, there’s no need to dim your office lights or wear special glasses while doing the exam. Plus, the cordless, quiet Bio/Screen is powered by an internal rechargeable Lithium ion battery, and when charged, it will run for approximately 12 five-minute exposures.
Another benefit of using an intuitive, effective light: When you’re not tied up trying to use something more cumbersome, you’re in a position to also educate your patient about oral cancer so he or she can continue to be vigilant about noticing abnormalities in between visits.
To learn more about the Bio/Screen, visit addent.com/bioscreen/.
