• 1/24/2007
  • Boston, MA
  • Dr. Deanna Lites
  • WHDH (www.whdh.com)

Every hour someone in this country dies of oral cancer. One of the reasons: it’s often not detected until it’s too late. But new technology approved by the FDA is hoping to change that.

Dentist Steven Spitz is performing a cancer screening.

An oral cancer screening is part of a routine dental exam where dentists look for abnormal tissue, but there are limitations with the naked eye.

That’s why some dentists, like Dr. Spitz, are turning to high tech equipment for help. It’s called Velscope and can help dentists find oral cancer in its earliest stage.

“The Velscope uses a natural fluorescence of light to excite the tissues and give a fluorescence of tissue back so that we can see the different colors,” Dr. Steven Spitz, of Smileboston, said.

Normal tissue looks pink to your eye. When you look at healthy tissue with the Velscope it will appear green and if it’s abnormal it will be dark.

“This black area, that’s an area of concern telling us there’s abnormal tissue,” Dr. Spitz said. “We can see things that we never would have looked at or given a second thought of before.”

Dentists aren’t the only ones happy with the quick and painless test. Joanne Finnegan’s oral screening was A-okay.

“I think it’s great it was so simple and to be able to find that information before it becomes more advanced it’s a great tool,” Joanne said.

Not all insurance companies cover the Velscope. It costs between $35 and $55.