We are proud to announce that VELscope will be featured on the Dr. Oz TV show September 14th, 2010. Please tune in! For airtime showings in your area, please visit: http://www.doctoroz.com/find-station and plug in your zip code to see the new show airing time and TV station.  Blodgett Dental Care was the first in Portland to offer our patients this revolutionary, life-saving new toll in oral cancer screening.

If you missed the broadcast you may be able to view the segment on the video page: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos

Early Visualization Of Mucosal Diseases

VELscope® is a revolutionary hand-held device that provides Blodgett Dental Care with an easy-to-use adjunctive mucosal examination system for the early detection of abnormal tissue. The patented VELscope technology platform was developed in collaboration with the British Columbia Cancer Agency and MD Anderson Cancer Center, with funding provided in part by the NIH. It is based on the direct visualization of tissue fluorescence and the changes in fluorescence that occur when abnormalities are present.

How the VELscope Works
The VELscope handpiece emits a safe blue light into the oral cavity, which excites the tissue from the surface of the epithelium through to the basement membrane (where premalignant changes typically begin) and into the stroma beneath, causing it to fluoresce. Typically, healthy tissue appears as a bright apple-green glow, while suspicious regions are identified by a loss of fluorescence, which thus appear dark.
The clinician is then able to view the different fluorescence responses to help differentiate between normal and abnormal tissue. In fact, VELscope is the only non-invasive adjunctive device clinically proven to help discover occult oral disease.

Benefits Patients, Clinicians and Practice
When used as an adjunctive aid in combination with traditional oral cancer examination procedures, VELscope facilitates the early discovery and visualization of mucosal abnormalities, including oral cancer. In one or two minutes, with no rinses or stains required, a VELscope system examination helps healthcare professionals assess their patients’ oral health. Through the CDT code D0431, an increasing number of insurance companies are recognizing VELscope as an adjunctive screening device. VELscope combines minimal per-patient costs with more effective screening.