What is VELscope and Why is it Important?
When screening for oral cancer, it is important for your dental professional to be able to study any abnormalities in the mucosal linings of your upper throat, mouth and lips. The VELscope aids in doing just this, creating detailed visualizations without any rinsing, staining or pain. In fact, in two minutes or less, your dental professional will have a detailed image to study, making VELscope an easy and quick way to gather essential information so that together you can make a plan for preventative care.
Learn more about the VELscope by watching the video below.
How VELscope Works
Your mouth contains many layers of oral tissues, and it’s important for any visualization technology to scan for abnormalities in each one. The VELscope does just this by exciting molecules called fluorophores in the mouth with a blue light. The fluorophores then emit light of their own called fluorescence. Healthy tissue emits different colored light than abnormal tissue, creating what is akin to a map of the mouth in green, yellow and red. To enhance this visualization even further, the VELscope’s filter sharpens the normal versus abnormal tissue contrast, so there’s no blurring.