Has the dentist ever asked you to stick out your tongue out and say “ahhh”? At Atlantis Dental Roundhouse we do. This is part of a very important check that we do for oral cancer. Our patients find it a bit odd that a dentist is asking them to do this but the “ahhh” allows the dentist to check high risk areas of the mouth including the sides and bottom of the tongue as well as the floor of the mouth to see if there are signs of oral cancer. If the dentist suspects anything is going on, a special oral cancer screening tool called VELscope is used. The VELscope is a special light that can show abnormal tissue which the naked eye may not see. If discovered early on, oral cancer has a high cure rate. Most people are not aware that more cases of oral cancer are diagnosed each year in Canada than ovarian and cervical cancers combined.
If you notice any ulcers or sores in your mouth, make sure you get these checked sooner rather than later by a dentist.
Dr Philip Kim and Dr Hussein Shivji are proud to provide dentistry for patients at our clinic in Yaletown.