Gurnee Dentists Dr Ira L Shapira and Dr Mark J Amidei Have Declared War on Oral Cancer; Denture Patients Frequently Go Years Without Screening Exams for Oral Cancer

    LAKE COUNTY, IL, March 07, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Oral cancer affects 37,000 people in the U.S. each year; about one-half of those treated for oral cancer survive five years. 8,000 deaths in the U.S. are attributed to oral cancer. The poor survival rate and high death rate is due to LATE DIAGNOSIS. Oral cancer is easy to diagnose and treat, if discovered early, but there is no comprehensive program to screen for oral cancer which is why it so often is discovered in later stages.

Dr. Ira Shapira and Dr. Mark Amidei and their team at Delany Dental Care Ltd, 310 South Greenleaf, Gurnee are introducing an advanced diagnostic instrument to improve early detection of oral cancer. The VELSCOPE allows visualization based on tissue fluorescence an optical phenomenon that causes abnormal tissue to appear a different color. The VELSCOPE helps locate oral cancer and premalignant dysplasia.

Dr. Shapira and Amidei, and the Delany Dental Care Team, are offering free oral cancer screenings in their office at 310 South Greenleaf, Gurnee. Delany Dental Care (www.delanydentalcare.com) recently moved into new offices after 27 years of serving Gurnee and Lake County patients in their Delany Road office. Screening will be offered during regular office hours, but when necessary, additional hours will be added to the schedule.

Please contact Delany Dental Care at 847-623-5530 to arrange an appointment for complimentary screening.

Over eighteen years ago, long before Delany Dental Care had the benefit of advanced diagnostic instruments, Dr. Ira Shapira suspected that CLC Professor Nancy Cook had squamous cell carcinoma on her tongue.

Nancy had gone to several dentists complaining of a furry white patch on the left side of her tongue, but all had told her that whatever it was, it wasn't important. The she overheard CLC Professor Martin Ley telling another faculty member about his "high tech" dentist, Dr. Ira Shapira. Worried because the white patch had not disappeared, Nancy decided to make an appointment with Dr. Shapira. Upon examining Nancy, Dr. Shapira immediately sent Nancy for a biopsy. His suspicion was corroborated; Nancy had oral cancer. Dr. Harold Pelzer, Chief of Otolaryngology, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, performed surgery on her tongue, and Dr. Joseph Imperato, Chief of Radiation Oncology, Lake Forest Hospital, supervised six weeks of radiation therapy. Nancy credits Dr. Shapira and the Team at Delany Dental Care with saving her life.

Nancy was very pleased when Dr Shapira asked her to help win the war on Cancer and gave the above history in hopes of saving other patients.

Oral Cancer Information:

Oral cancer used to be found primarily in middle-aged and older Americans. However, due to the spread of the HPV virus (HPV 16), the fastest growth rate is occurring in younger adults, especially women. Cancers associated with HPV 16 do not always exhibit visible lesions or discolorations and are more difficult to diagnose. The VELSCOPE makes the detection of cancers caused by the HPV virus possible.

Early diagnosis and treatment can drastically cut the cost of cancer treatment, reduce the number of recurrences and improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Presently, oral cancer discovered at later stages are 20 times more likely to develop a second cancer over the next ten years.

From Medline Plus (a service of the NIH (National Institutes of Health):

Oral cancer can form in any part of the mouth or throat. Most begin in the tongue and in the floor of the mouth. Cancer risk is higher for males, if you are over 40, use tobacco or alcohol, or have a history of head or neck cancer. Frequent sun exposure is a risk for lip cancer.

Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for approximately 90% of oral cancers.

Oral cancer symptoms include:

- White or red patches in your mouth
- A mouth sore that won't heal
- Bleeding in your mouth
- Loose teeth
- Problems or pain with swallowing
- A lump in your neck
- An earache

Oral cancer treatments which cost approximately $3.2 billion per year in the U.S. may include surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy or a combination of the two.

Dr Shapira has been a long term advocate of treating medical problems with dental solutions. In the 1980's he was a pioneer in the field of Dental Sleep Medicine, utilizing oral appliances to treat sleep apnea and snoring. He did research at Rush Medical Schoo'ls Sleep Disorders Center on the relation of jaw position to sleep apnea. He was a charter member of the original Sleep Disorder Dental Society which later became the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recognizes Oral Appliances as a first line treatment (along with CPAP) for mild to moderate sleep apnea and as an alternative to CPAP for severe apnea when patients do not tolerate CPAP.

Dr Shapira lectured extensively in the 1990s to the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) and in 1998 had a chapter published in a textbook of Anti-Aging Medicine.

Dr Ira L Shapira is an author and section editor of Sleep and Health Journal, President of I HATE CPAP LLC, President Dato-TECH, and has a Dental Practice with his partner Dr Mark Amidei. He has recently formed Chicagoland Dental Sleep Medicine Associates. He is a Regent of ICCMO and its representative to the TMD Alliance, He was a founding and certified member of the Sleep Disorder Dental Society which became the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, A founding member of DOSA the Dental Organization for Sleep Apnea. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, A Diplomat of the American Academy of Pain Management, a graduate of LVI. He is a former assistant professor at Rush Medical School's Sleep Service where he worked with Dr Rosalind Cartwright who is a founder of Sleep Medicine and Dental Sleep Medicine. Dr Shapira is a consultant to numerous sleep centers and teaches courses in Dental Sleep Medicine in his office to doctors from around the U.S. He is the Founder of I HATE CPAP LLC and http://www.ihatecpap.com Dr Shapira also holds several patents on methods and devices for the prophylactic minimally invasive early removal of wisdom teeth and collection of bone marrow and stem cells. Dr Shapira is a licensed general dentist in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Dr Shapira recently formed the website www.ihateheadaches.org that is dedicated to treating chronic headaches and migraines with neuromuscular detistry.

# # #