Jo-Anne Jones, RDH

As with any investment brought into our practices, it is prudent to examine the ability to see a return on our investment within in a timely manner. Let’s do a little number crunching. Based on a solo practitioner dental office with approximately 1500 active patients (75% being over the age of 18 = 1125 adult patients)  and 2 active dental hygiene conducting a full oral cancer screening on every adult patient annually, the following calculations were made:

1125 active adult patients screened annually would account for approximately 94 patients per month that would be seen. Based on a minimum compliance rate of 50%, 47 VELscope Vx screening exams were performed each month at an average billing of $15. More and more dental insurance plans are covering this procedure code (D0431 in the US and 04403 listed under ‘Direct Fluorescence Visualization’ in selected provinces in Canada). Patients will need to check with their individual plans for policy coverage. Revenues generated for the 1st year include the initial capital cost of VELscope Vx and an estimated $2/patient for sundries (564 patients screened x $2 = $1128).

It is clear to see that the ROI on the VELscope Vx purchase is one of the fastest returns in the dental industry. Once your patients understand the importance of opportunistic oral cancer screening and the fact that VELscope screens beyond what traditional white light is capable of, the compliance for the examination becomes simple. To this, we have created a consent form that you may customize to your practice requirements with the objective of elevating awareness of oral cancer today and its risk factors. To download this consent form, click here.

The ROI is quick and significant however nothing to be compared to the ROI of saving a life!