The Role of Direct Visual Fluorescence in Oral Examination

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To assess the diagnostic benefit of the VELscope (direct visual fluorescence) inspection in oral examination. II. Efficacy of the VELscope in identifying dysplastic (premalignant) and malignant oral mucosal lesions and in discriminating these lesions from common benign tissue changes. III. Accuracy of clinical judgment versus VELscope findings. IV. Ability of the VELscope to identify lesions or extent of lesions beyond what is clinically apparent. OUTLINE: Patients undergo conventional oral examination (COE) followed by direct visual fluorescence examination (DVFE). Patients with tissue abnormalities found by COE or DVFE undergo scalpel biopsy within 2 weeks.