Hi JT2,

Received an email from Petey after he read your post and I see that not only he, but my dear friend, Colleen as well, knew I would be posting.

First of all congratulations on being cancer free since May/06. Your post is certainly a timely one, very well written and thought provoking.

Like Colleen, I assume that the device that your dentist purchased is a VELscope. I have posted some information about it in the Activism Forum and I am in contact with either their sales rep or advertising department quite often. By the way, the VELscope was developed by a company in BC, Canada called LED Dental, Inc.

If it is the VELscope, I assume that cost of $8,000 you mentioned is Canadian money. We pay $5,000 in the states.

In our office we have never looked at oral cancer screenings as a money making service and have always included it as a part of our examinations. Whether the doctor does one at an new patient exam or a hygienist does one at a recall exam, we don't charge for it. That is not to say that charging for it is wrong, this is just our office policy.

As far as the VELscope is concerned or the system we used to use, called ViziLite, we have decided to charge only enough to cover our costs. We charge $25 for the VELscope exam and I can say that only 3 people have declined the exam since I started doing them.

The value of these services in regard to the posssiblilty of saving someone's life, is immeasureable and we want to do whatever we can to encourage patients to have the exams performed. The financial aspect is not and never will be, a consideration for us. However, I do know that we are the exception to the rule.

In the USA, the use of the VELscope can be reported to an insurance company by the dental procedure code 0431, however, mostly all insurance companies do not pay for it. So it's billable, but not covered!!! I would think that it could be billed with the same code in Canada.

As with other newer procedures that have come about in dentistry over the years, it takes quite a long time for insurance companies to increase the premiums in order to cover the cost of adding benefits. There is no doubt in my mind that this will happen, but I have no idea when. Insurance companies are in the business of making money and that's why their corporate offices are in such magnicent buildings.

I'm sorry if this post is disjointed as I have been typing it between patient visits.

Thanks for bringing this topic up and I hope to see more posts from you in the future.

Jerry