When you visit Kennebunk Center for Dentistry, you will receive oral cancer screenings to ensure that your mouth remains in pristine condition. To perform her oral cancer screenings, Dr. Sheikh uses VELscope®. This non-invasive tool is recognized by the World Health Organization as providing accurate results and diagnoses when it comes to spotting tissue abnormalities. To learn more about how we use VELscope in Kennebunk, Maine, to care for your smile, please contact us today at 207-985-7944 and schedule an appointment with our experienced, caring dentist.
VELscope is an award-winning dental tool used to conduct oral cancer screenings. By using a small, wireless, hand-held scope, VELscope emits blue light to excite natural tissue fluorescence and detect abnormalities. Here’s how it works: your tissue contains natural fluorescence called “fluorophores” that become excited when exposed to light of the appropriate wavelength, such as blue light. When they are excited, the fluorophores emit their own fluorescent light at a different wavelength, such as green light. If there are any abnormalities, their fluorescence pattern is different and emits a darker color or no color. This allows our dentist to pinpoint areas that may have unhealthy tissue that most likely could not be seen with the naked eye.
The VELscope is designed to allow our dentist to evaluate and examine your mouth and any abnormalities in real time. There is no waiting for images to develop or lab results. Instead, our dentist gain an enhanced ability to visualize abnormalities, such as pre-malignant dysplasia and oral cancer. Should abnormalities be found, our dentist can perform further examinations, diagnose the abnormality, and provide specialized treatment plans.
To learn more about how VELscope can enhance and protect your oral health, we invite you to call or visit our office. We are always happy to answer any questions.