By Alison Majikes / Special to TheDailyFloss.com

People all across the country, young and old, look up to baseball players for many reasons.

The habit of chewing tobacco on a regular basis isn’t one of them.

But one baseball club is taking a proactive stance to protect its players from the hazards of chewing tobacco and prevent any diseases associated with it.

As thedailyfloss.com mentioned in April, when the Seattle Mariners reported to Spring training back in late February in sunny Peoria, Ariz., the players and coaches underwent some health tests to make sure they were all in good shape and ready for the upcoming 2015 season.

According to an article on dental-tribune.com, this year, Forward Science Technologies, creator of OralID, a device that screens for oral cancer using fluorescent technology, teamed up with the Mariners to supplement their health program. The screening, which they received in addition to the rest of their preseason checkup, included head and neck exams, followed by an OralID fluorescence exam.

“The Seattle Mariners are one of the very few MLB teams that utilize this potential life saving technology, stressing the importance of oral health assessments for all players,” said Robert Levine DDS, assistant professor at the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ASDOH) and director of laser sciences at A.T. Still University. “We have worked with the principals at [Forward Science Technologies] for almost a decade now, and the simplistic design OralID allows all clinicians to be able to easily incorporate a technology for early discovery, in efforts to save more lives.”

Hopefully more MLB teams, and other sports for that matter, will follow in the Mariners footsteps and also start screening for oral cancer on their players in the future. According to Forward Science Technologies, every hour, one American dies of oral cancer.

To read the full story about the Mariners preseason health screenings: https://www.dental-tribune.com/articles/news/usa/23418_seattle_mariners_step_up_to_the_plate_for_oral_cancer_screenings.html