How your Scotts Valley Dentists are helping Save Lives

Categories: Oral Health

oral cancerSanta Cruz, Scotts Valley CA

Discovering oral cancer early on means better survival rate, here’s how your Scotts Valley Dentists are helping save lives.

The American Dental Association recommends that everyone see their dentist twice per year, or every six months, for a check-up that should include a dental cleaning and an examination of your oral health. Did you know that an oral cancer screening should be part of this exam? Staying vigilant and receiving routine oral cancer screenings is beneficial both for dental practices, and patients.

A thorough oral cancer screening could save your life

A comprehensive exam needs to be part of every dental check-up. This exam should include a comprehensive visual and tactile examination of both the interior and exterior of the oral cavity, including all structures inside the oral cavity and palpation of the neck, thyroid, and lymph nodes. Oral cancer can develop in the mouth, tonsils, tongue, or the throat. The hard and soft palate also needs to be examined.

While you may think that older individuals who use tobacco or drink excessively are most at risk of developing oral cancer, the truth is anyone of any age is susceptible to it. Therefore, it is essential that every patient receive an oral cancer screening at each six-month check up.

Cancer screenings are easier and more thorough than ever thanks to OralID

Like any scientific field, dentistry has benefited from recent advances in technology. One of these advances is OralID, which allows an oral cancer screening to be conducted in less time, more efficiently, and allow for even earlier detection of cancer or precancerous spots. An OralID screening entails shining a special blue light inside the oral cavity, while the dentist conducting the exam wears a special set of eyewear. As the light shines on your oral tissue, green indicates healthy tissue, while dark areas could be signs of abnormal tissue that requires further testing for potential oral cancer.

OralID has several benefits

As opposed to other devices used for oral cancer screenings, OralID is extremely affordable. This method also is portable, and simple to use—especially after completing the training webinar offered by Forward Science, the manufacturer of OralID. OralID also stands out as the only device that screens for oral cancer that is both cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and requires no consumable.

“Our primary goal as a company is to help save lives,” said Robert Whitman, co-founder of Forward Science, in an article posted in The Saugus Advertiser in December of 2018. “When we designed OralID, we went to the clinicians and asked what they wanted in a product. With that feedback, we designed a device around the user’s needs—portable, simple to use, no per-patient cost, and under $1,000. OralID can now be implemented into every dental office and everyone can be screened, thus saving more lives.”

Someone dies from some form of oral cancer, on average, once per hour

According to The Oral Cancer Foundation, it’s estimated that there will be 53,000 new cases of some form of oral cancer diagnosed in 2019. The majority of oral cancer cases are identified in Stage III or Stage IV, dramatically decreasing the survival rate, as cancer usually has advanced into the lymph nodes by that stage. In fact, the five-year survival rate of oral cancer is just 43 percent.

Why live with those risks? Undergoing a two-minute examination with OralID means that your Scotts Valley dentists can identify potential cancerous cells in your oral tissue before it is too late. Schedule your examination and cancer screening with Drs. Ariana and Max Ebrahimian by calling (831) 438-4411 to make an appointment today for an OralID cancer screening.

Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry serves the oral health needs of patients in Los Gatos, Santa Cruz, and Scotts Valley, California.