You may not know this but every day I have the opportunity to “speak to” about 300 dentists internationally. Some 15 years ago, or so I was privileged to be invited to join a group of exceptional dentists who were willing to share their knowledge and experiences on a daily basis through the then magic of email. Over the years and through national conferences presented by this group I have made many professional and personal friends. Through our collaboration I get to find out about the very newest and most helpful things in dentistry. When I have a question, I have never failed to find an instructive answer from one of these colleagues.
A few weeks ago they introduced me to a small package. OralID was the name of the small specialized lighting system that supposedly was able to help identify subtle changes in the tissues of the mouth that were indicative of cellular injury. Detecting these slight variations in cheeks and gums is difficult and often impossible. But boy is it important to do so.
It seems that damaged cells will appear differently when looked at through special illumination and filtered lenses. Anything from cancers to infection to injury will stand out and reveal itself so that I can assess the area for the need for further study. Both I and our hygienists, Kim and Gloria, have examined you regularly for cysts and tumors and cancers of the head and neck—sometimes without you even being aware of it. And so we are pretty conscientious and good about it. Because we have been diligent I was ambivalent about getting yet another gadget. But as you may have already guessed, my decision was that if there was a technology that could improve my diagnostic skills in such an important area, I should have it.
So it arrived in my office in mid January. It is a simple device to use. Shine the light. Look through filtering glasses. Record any abnormality. Check in two weeks and if the scene looks the same and unhealed, you can be quite suspicious that there is a problem that needs to be checked further, usually by biopsy of some kind.
Here’s the shocker. The third time I used this device I DID find a lesion. I went back and looked without the light and could not see anything, even with my big magnifiers! I photographed it and referred the patient for biopsy. WOW! This little light, no bigger than a roll of life savers is indeed a life saver.
It is recommended that the “fluorescence test” be used on a regular, yearly basis. Of course we will have a conversation with you before using it, but I wanted to tell you about this device which certainly opened my already open eyes still further.
The music that is playing in my head is “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine….”
For your health and well being, Keep Smiling,
Sander White DDS
