ORAL CDx Get Answers To Frequently Asked Questions About Oral CDx

A spot as tiny as a pinhead can spread like wildfire.

Now, dentists have a new, painless test to catch the disease in its earliest stages.

La Mesa dentist Jeff Gray is making it his mission to wipe out oral cancer.

"This year, 30,000 people will be diagnosed with oral cancer and the scary thing about it is that within five years, half of those people will be dead," Gray told 10News.

"If we can find it early, we can save those 15,000 people," Gray added.

Gray and his partner, Kenny Williams, are using the latest weapon against oral cancer -- a screening tool called Oral CDx.

The test uses a small brush to scrape tissue and cells from the mouth.

According to Gray, it's a painless procedure that puts patients' minds at rest.

A small sample from a suspicious lesion is put on a slide and sent to a laboratory where it's scanned for abnormal or cancerous cells.

Dentists and patients love it because traditional oral cancer screening requires a painful biopsy.

One of Gray's patients, Maya Natik, said there's no comparison.

"I didn't feel anything. It's almost like tickling with the brush ? he just rotates the brush on the tongue and it was fast and no discomfort," Naik told 10News.

Test results typically come back within 48 hours.

If you would like to find out if your dentist offers the Oral CDx screening test, call (800) ORAL-HEALTH