Free, High-Tech Oral Pre-Cancer Screening Comes to Las Vegas Dental Practice

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Cancer Possibly Accelerated by Increase in Oral Sex; Interviews and Video Opportunities

Las Vegas dentist Dr. James P. Wright, founder of Four Seasons Dental & Med Spa, now has cutting edge technology to detect the disease at its earliest stages, that could save lives and avoid costly reconstructive surgery.

Dr. Wright will offer the VELscope™ oral pre-cancer screening free to patients with appointments through May 15, 2010.  ($65 is the normal charge)

Dr. Wright has found that oral cancer is rising rapidly and he hopes to raise awareness through the free offer, while also actively promoting April as Oral Cancer Awareness Month.

Dr. Wright says if oral cancer is detected early, then the survival rate is an estimated 80% to 90%.  When oral cancer is found in the later stages, after it is visible during a routine dental check-up, the five-year survival rate drops to 20-30%.

The VELscope™ can diagnose oral cancer before it’s visible to the naked eye.  VELscope™ is FDA approved.

“Velscope uses a painless light that penetrates beneath the tissues of the mouth and allows me to see pre-cancerous cells in their earliest stages,” Dr. Wright explains.  “We have always performed visual oral cancer screenings with every exam.  But this innovative new technology is a very important advancement.”

“For years, gynecologists have offered patients pre-cancer screening in the form of pap smears,” Dr. Wright says.  “Now dentists have the same opportunity of saving lives through early cancer detection”.

A recent medical report shows a rapid increase in cases of oral cancer.  In the British Medical Journal, Dr. Hisham Mehanna, director of the Institute of Head and Neck Studies and Education at University Hospital in Coventry (UK), says oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (oral cancer) grew by 22% between 1999 and 2006 in North America.

In 2007, oral cancer increased by 11%, according to Dr. Jerald Curatola, making it the sixth most prevalent cancer.  More than 40% of those diagnosed will die within 5 years, making oral cancer more deadly than breast, cervical, Hodgkin’s, prostate, liver, testicular, kidney, thyroid and colon cancers.  Research now shows that in North America a person dies of oral cancer every hour of every day.  It is also the most disfiguring cancer.  The latest statistics point out that this has become a cancer you can “catch” as oral sex is causative in contracting oral cancer.

The findings from the British Medical Journal show a 50% rise in mouth cancer is linked to the human papilloma virus (HPV).  That same virus causes 80 per cent of cervical cancer cases.  Schoolgirls, as young as 12, are currently being vaccinated against the virus in order to prevent the disease.  The British study recommends that the vaccination program should be extended to boys as well.

For more information, here is a story from the London Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7521048/Rise-in-mouth-cancer-may-be-due-to-sexually-transmitted-infection-experts.html

Dr. James P. Wright has been a practicing dentist since 1988 combing artistry, quality, holistic dentistry and cutting-edge technology.  This year alone, Dr. Wright has more than twice the number of required continuing education hours.

Four Seasons Dental & Med Spa offers a unique blend: a team of seven dentists and specialists to serve all patients’ dental needs in a relaxing spa setting.

For interview requests, call Debby Wright

HYPERLINK “http://www.FourSeasonsDentalSpa.com” www.FourSeasonsDentalSpa.com