3 Reasons You Need An Annual Oral Cancer Screening

Oral cancer is nothing to take lightly. For many years it was one of the most deadly types of cancer due to the fact that it was hard to detect in it’s early stages. Modern technology has made the detection of oral cancer much easier, but many patients are still unaware that a simple oral cancer screening could save their life. We have listed 3 Reasons that you need to be getting an annual oral cancer screening below:

1. Oral cancer isn’t typically visible until it is in a very advanced stage. Even as dentists, we are not able to see or detect many oral cancer cases without using an oral cancer screening device such as the VELscope. This device allows us to see things that are not visible to the naked eye.

2. The demographic of the typical oral cancer patient is drastically changing. We have diagnosed multiple cases of oral cancer in non-smokers and in patients under the age of 40. It has now been determined that certain strands of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) can cause oral cancer. This means that anyone who is sexually active is at risk for developing oral cancer.

3. An oral cancer screening is too easy not to do it. The VELscope oral cancer screening is harmless, comfortable, economical, and only takes about 5 minutes. When performed regularly, chances are very good that if you did develop oral cancer it could be caught in an early stage.

As your Richmond dentist, we recommend that all patients 18 years of age and older get a VELscope oral cancer screening. For more information or to schedule your screening today, click here.