Oral CDX Brush for Oral Cancer Detection
Holistic Dental Treatments Calgary
Early detection of oral cancer can increase the 5-year survival rate from 50% to almost 90%. Suspicious areas in the mouth have traditionally required a piece of tissue to be surgically cut from the mouth. A new and painless test is now available called Oral CDx Brush Biopsy. This system uses a small brush, which is gently rubbed over any suspicious area of the mouth. The cells which accumulate on the brush are sent to a lab for computer analysis. In a recent study of 945 patients, Oral CDx detected all cases of oral cancer correctly, even when dentists did not suspect the presence of cancer from the lesion.
The benefits of Oral CDx are the possible avoidance of a painful surgical biopsy and the ease of sampling allows the test to be done during a routine dental examination. Traditionally, dentists take a “wait and watch” approach to suspicious lesions. The simplicity of the Oral CDx test allows tissue samples to be taken early in the diagnosis process. With oral cancers, an earlier determination is always important for both piece of mind and prompt intervention.
Oral cancer screening should be done annually by your dentist.