Advanced Dentistry of Westchester was the first private practice in Westchester and one of the very first in the country to use the VELscope device that Dr. Oz and The Doctors called a “new break-through device that patients should demand.” Dr. Magid, DDS, FICD, had been using the VELscope technology seven years before that “breakthrough” episode aired.

Can oral sex cause oral cancer? Watch The Doctors. See more about why Dr. Oz says you should DEMAND the exam that we have been doing all along…

Turning the spotlight on early detection of oral cancer

Which form of cancer is the cause of death of the most Americans each year?

1. Melanoma (skin cancer)?
2. Cervical Cancer?
3. or Oral Cancer?

Much to the surprise of most, the answer is Oral Cancer.

The reason is diagnosis. Studies have shown that 66% of all oral cancers are diagnosed at stage 3 and stage 4 which results in a 5 year survival rate of under 50%.

1. Under incandescent light: No visible lesion. 2. Under VELscope: No loss of fluorescence.

Dentists have strived for many years to find oral cancer early but, unlike some other cancers, there is not much distinguishing early cancerous lesions to the unaided eye. A device developed by a Canadian company changed all of that.

The VELscope is a hand-held portable device that can detect changes in the mouth you can’t see with the naked eye. In the dark, the blue light defines the borders of a cancerous lesion that would otherwise be invisible. The new device can even find pre-cancerous changes called “dysplasias” before they become cancerous.

1. Under incandescent light: No visible lesion.2. Under VELscope: No loss of fluorescence.

Dr. Magid, DDS, FICD, was one of the first dentists in the US to incorporate the VELscope in his private dental practice. When Dr. Magid, DDS, FICD, shines the light of the VELscope in the mouth, normal tissues will fluoresce a green color but the tissue that is pre-cancerous or cancerous will look dark.

If a suspicious area is detected, a biopsy can be taken to determine the extent of the changes and remove the entire affected area when it is very small. The ability to detect the disease early means we can control the disease. The problem with oral cancer is it is a very aggressive cancer but if you catch it early the survival rate is over 85%. The goal is to detect these changes as early as possible.

1. Under incandescent light: No visible lesion.2. Under VELscope: No loss of fluorescence.

Which patients do we check with the VELscope?

Every adult patient should be checked yearly. While smokers, and those who drink alcoholic beverages regularly, or those with a past history of cancer are at a higher risk of oral cancer, recent studies have shown a relationship of oral cancer with Human Papilloma Virus. This is the virus that is significant in cervical cancer. Alarmingly 25% of newly diagnosed cases are appearing in younger adults and even teenagers… a population that doesn’t have the risk factors considered as indicators before.

This new oral cancer test is comfortable, quick, inexpensive, and is covered by many dental or medical insurance policies. The use of the VELscope technology for detection of oral cancer is only the beginning. The same technology may be used in the lung, the cervix and other sites for which testing is now ongoing.

Listen to a radio interview with Dr. Magid on how throat cancer can stem from HPV.