My week with Oral CDx

This week my office had the in office training for the Oral CDx you may know it as the BrushTest. I also got to hear Mark Rutenberg the designer of the BrushTest speak. The BrushTest is a quick and painless method that dentists use to test the common small white and red oral spots that most people have in their mouth at one time or another. The BrushTest is used to determine if a common oral spot contains abnormal cells (known as dysplasia) that, if left alone for several years, may develop into oral cancer.

Oral cancer is preventable!

The information on how to preform this simple painless test (I know its painless because I had it done on me) is available free online via the ADA CE website, through in office training or from a video.

Oral cancer kills as many Americans as melanoma and twice as many as cervical cancer, and is rising among women, young people, and non-smokers. Over 25% of oral cancer victims do not use tobacco or abuse alcohol. The disease demographics have changed since my days in dental school.

The main problem for early diagnosis is that we cannot look at a spot and tell whether it is displastic or not. This where the BrushTest comes in. It will tell us if the lesion is normal, has atypical cells or positive for displasia. The pathologists at the OralCDx lab are available for consultations to help you better understand the test results along with how to appropriately followup on the results if the test comes back atypical or positive.

Dentists and Hygienists can make a difference. You cannot assume a lesion is just normal or nothing. 4% of all lesions are potentially something! Using the inexpensive and painless brush test can assure you and your patient that what looks like nothing truly is nothing to worry about.

This is a test. Whereas Vizaite and Velscope may help you identify lesions they are not tests. So you can use the lights to help identify areas where a BrushTest maybe necessary, to tell you if the area needs no treatment or a scalpel biopsy would be necessary.

Brush The Spot ---> Prevents Oral Cancer

Learn more about the Oral CDx BrushTest on their web site.