There is one single word that uninhibitedly strikes fear into any person: cancer. The mouth is not immune to this horrific disease. According to the Oral Cancer Foundation there are 34,000 new cases of oral cancer diagnosed each year. It causes 8,000 deaths each year. Of those 34,000 new cases each year, only half will be alive after 5 years.
There are several risk factors for this disease. Historically, oral cancer is related to alcohol and tobacco use, but according to the American Dental Association 25% of oral cancer patients have no known risk factors. Although oral cancer risk increase with age, certain oral cancers are affecting younger generations. This new trend is associated with HPV viral infections.
Oral Cancer death rates are not high because the disease is hard to discover, oral cancer death rates are high because it is routinely discovered late in its development. At the stage the the cancer has possibly metastasized 
to other locations, usually the lymph nodes in the neck. Furthermore, with time an oral cancer tumor has had time to invade deeper into oral tissues, making treatment more invasive and worsening the prognosis.
Because of these eye opening facts, We are utilizing the state-of-the-art VELscope oral cancer screening system in conjunction with the conventional oral cancer screening each patient receives at their regular dental checkups. This machine can literally see beneath the surface to detect any potentially dangerous areas. The VELscope exam only takes a couple of more minutes after your regular dental checkup. It involves no pain and the cost is very reasonable. We hope our patients appreciate the technology we are utilizing to provide the peace-of-mind you deserve.
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