ViziLite : Oral Cancer Screening

Did you know that oral cancer steals the life of one person every hour? India has one of the highest incidence of Oral cancer in the world. The high incidence of oral cancer and oral pre-cancerous lesions in India has long been linked with the habit of betel quid chewing incorporating tobacco.Oral cancer ranks number one among men and number three among women in India. Oral cancer constitutes 12% of all cancers in men and 8% of all cancers among women.

Oral cancer is a major health problem in India. In India it is estimated that among the 400 million individuals aged 15 years and over 47% use tobacco in one form or the other, there are many interesting forms of tobacco use in India eg. Reverse smoking. Annual incidence rate is estimated to be 64,460. However total number of cases at any given will be 2.5 to 3 times higher than this number . Only half of patients diagnosed with oral cancer will survive longer than five years. Because it is often detected in the later stages, oral cancer's mortality rate is higher than that of cervical cancer, Hodgkins disease, brain, liver, kidney, or ovarian cancer. Treatment for oral cancer often causes disfiguration and lessens the patients quality of life.

Thanks to an amazing new technology, ViziLite, dentists and hygienists can quickly and painlessly screen for oral cancer. ViziLite is an identification and marking system that detects tissue abnormalities and is used in combination with traditional visual exams.

All adults should have an annual ViziLite exam because a quarter of oral cancer victims are non-smokers, don't drink, and have no lifestyle factors to heighten their oral cancer risk. Men over 40 and women between the ages of 20 and 40 are the most prone to the disease. Patients with lifestyle risks, including any tobacco use, daily alcohol consumption, viral infections, autoimmune deficiencies like HIV, and diabetes, may need more frequent evaluations.

The screening involves a few simple steps. First, you rinse thoroughly with a cleansing solution. Then, your dentist dims the overhead lights and examines your mouth using the ViziLite wand. If ViziLite finds a problem area, the spot will become illuminated and appear distinctly different from the surrounding normal tissue.

While all of this information sounds disheartening, if oral cancer is found and treated in the early stages the condition has an 80 to 90-percent cure rate. Ask your dentist about whether you could benefit from an oral cancer screening that includes ViziLite.