This is a follow-up to the topic "Not Sure" that developed in the "Symptoms & Diagnosis Forum.
It's great that there are so many members that want to get their local dentists starting to do thorough oral cancer screenings.
Two of the most helpful websites are as follows:
www.sextetscreening.org. This website was started by two OCF members, Barbara Boland and Eva Grayzel. By clicking on the "Dental Professionals" link on the home page a dentist can find 6 steps, with photos, showing how do to a visual and palpation exam.
The other site is,
www.gotodds.com Specifically this link,
http://66.148.2.226/miva/merchant.m...amp;Product_Code=25&Category_Code=09 will get the dentist to a page where they can purchase a DVD Package that icludes the DVD "Comprehensive Head & Neck Examination" as well as some handy Quick Guides showing the steps of the exam that are outlined in the DVD.
As far as the VELscope is concerned, their website,
www.velscope.com will tell a dentist all that they want to know about the product. This is a $5,000 investment, with an ongoing cost for each examination. Considering the potential life saving ability provided by the light, it is an investment that any office could and should afford.
Colleen, as usual, makes some valid points and asks some excellent questions. An office that says they do an oral cancer screening, doesn't mean that are doing a thorough examination. Just looking is NOT enough. It requires palpation and the VELscope adds another layer of thoroughness.
Educating the public so that they are well informed and then demand that they receive a thorough oral cancer screening will go a long way in helping early detection.
In an ideal world, patients should feel confident that they are in good hands with their dentist and hygienist. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Way too many oral cancers go undetected and untreated. Many of our members are proof of this fact. However, on the flip side, many owe their lives to the dentists and hygienists that did take the correct action.
What I would like everyone to understand, is that in most patients, it is very difficult if not impossible to vizualize the tonsils fully. Also, it is impossible to fully vizualize the base of the tongue. Only a scope can do this. So if symptoms appear in these areas, an ENT is the only one that can fully examine these areas.
Please let me know if there is anything else that I may be able to shed some light on. I have mentioned before, that at this particular point in time, there are more members actively trying to advocate for oral cancer and early detection awareness, than any time during the 2 years that I have been a member. This is an admirable fact and one that I am thrilled to see.
Jerry
