According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, close to 37,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year. Oral cancer will cause over 8,000 deaths, killing roughly 1 person per hour, 24 hours per day. The main reason for these grim statistics, is not because oral cancer is hard to diagnose, but because it is diagnosed too late-when it is in its advanced stages. As your dentist, I am dedicating myself to do everything that I possibly can to reduce these alarming oral cancer statistics one patient at a time. That’s why I recently invested in a new, advanced screening device that will enable me and my team to perform a detailed oral exam on our adult patients with far more accuracy than we ever could in the past. The device, which is called Identafi, is about the size of a power tooth brush, and uses three different wavelengths of light to help detect any suspicious areas in the mouth that would be impossible for us to see with our naked eyes. These suspicious areas, upon further evaluation, are usually benign, but I think you’ll agree that it’s always better to be safe than sorry. During your next hygiene exam, we will be performing a thorough Identafi examination and we will gladly answer any and all questions. If it has been a while since your last appointment, I recommend that you schedule an appointment at your earliest convenience.