DiCostanzo Dental has joined forces with Forward Science, the manufacturer of OralID™, and became a provider of the ID For Life™ Program to promote early detection and public awareness of oral cancer. Our doctors will be offering enhanced oral cancer screenings during scheduled appointments, to new and current patients.

Oral Cancer is not a rare disease and unfortunately it is on the rise. This year, approximately 45,780 will be diagnosed with oral cancer in the United States alone. Due to late stage discovery, one American dies every hour from oral cancer.

Dr. Gabe DiCostanzo, Dr. Megan DiCostanzo, and Dr. Lisa MacPhail will use an oral cancer screening device, OralID™, a fluorescent technology, in an effort to discover oral cancers in their earliest stages. Currently, 63% of oral cancers are found in late stages (stage III, IV), resulting in a 5-year survival rate of less than 50%. Finding these abnormalities in much earlier stages can increase the 5-year survival rate up to 80-90%. The proven early detection procedures for other cancers, such as mammography, Pap smear, and PSA, are similar to the use of OralID™, along with a doctor’s visual exam. It is a painless examination that takes approximately 1-2 minutes, and gives the best chance of finding any abnormalities at the earliest stage, to minimize or eliminate the potentially disfiguring effects of oral cancer, and possibly save your life.

Risk factors are (but not limited to) the following:

·         Age – 40 and older

·         Tobacco use

·         Drinking alcoholic beverages

·         Oral Human Papillomavirus (HPV) –increasing in young adults (plays a role in more than 20% of causes)

**More than 25% of oral cancer victims have no such lifestyle factors**

The CDC recommends an annual oral cancer screening exam and this enhanced examination is recognized by the American Dental Association as CDT-2007/08, procedure code D0431; however, this exam might not be covered by your insurance.

The fee for this enhanced examination is $25.