PHOENIX, Arizona--Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that its ViziLite Plus Oral Lesion Identification and Marking System, the newest tool in the fight against oral disease, is being used by the largest privately held retail dental practice management group in the Northeast--Aspen Dental Management, Inc.
Aspen dentists in New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are using the product now. Aspen expects to offer ViziLite exams in all of its 82 offices in seven states by late spring.
"Aspen Dental and its affiliated dentists are committed to providing our patients superior levels of dental care," said Robert A. Fontana, Aspen's president and CEO.
"We are extremely pleased to offer this latest advance in early-detection oral screening, which raises our standard of care to Aspen patients to yet another level. ViziLite Plus is an important tool, one that may help us save patients' lives."
"It is gratifying to know that dentists in the respected Aspen Dental Management organization are embracing the new ViziLite Plus technology in their practices," said Jeff Mazzarella, Vice President of Sales for Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
"We're seeing a steady increase in adoption of ViziLite Plus exams around the country. With one American dying every hour from oral cancer, it is critical that we all see a dentist at least once a year, and get a thorough head and neck exam. ViziLite Plus improves the ability to detect lesions early and early detection saves lives."
Oral cancer is among the most deadly cancer types in the U.S., largely owing to the fact that roughly two-thirds of all oral cancers are detected at advanced stage. There are some 30,000 new cases of oropharyngeal cancer each year, and 8,000 related deaths.
When oral cancer is detected early, survival rates are about 80%; detected late, the survival rate falls to 20 percent. The American Dental Association says that while most cases of oral cancer affect people who use tobacco and/or drink heavily, more than a quarter of oral cancers occur in people who do not smoke and have no other risk factors.
ViziLite Plus combines the oral screening technology of ViziLite, an advanced chemiluminescent light technology, with TBlue630, a marking system using Zila Tolonium Chloride, the only patented pharmaceutical-grade form of toluidine blue used in marking lesions identified during a ViziLite examination.
ViziLite Plus is indicated for use in individuals at increased risk for oral cancer. If ViziLite reveals an abnormality, TBlue630 may be used to mark suspicious lesions for further evaluation.
For more information about ViziLite Plus, visit www.vizilite.com.
