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Though his dental practice performed a visual oral cancer check on every patient at every visit, Dr. Longman was frustrated with the overall results of the procedure. Tiny spots or lesions were often missed until they had grown and become dangerously advanced and harder or impossible to treat. Now, Dr. Eddie Longman of Alexandria Old Town Dental has incorporated ViziLite into the standard of care for all patients. Because early detection is the key to a successful outcome, Dr. Longman’s patients are assured that this is the most comprehensive oral cancer screening possible. “On a patient’s first visit, and at every annual check-up, we will be performing a ViziLite oral cancer screening,” says Dr. Longman.

“There are two types of sleep apnea - obstructive and central,” explains Dr. Longman. Snoring and sleep apnea are breathing disorders that occur during sleep due to narrowing or closure of the airway when the muscles relax during sleep. Snoring is caused by partial closure of the airway caused by soft tissue in the back of the throat collapsing. In obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the airway totally closes many times during the night and can reduce oxygen levels in the body and disrupt sleep. This causes the brain to react to the lack of oxygen by alerting the body to arouse from sleep. “This can occur hundreds of times a night resulting in excessive daytime sleepiness, clenching/grinding of the teeth, myofascial pain, temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD), irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, reflux, depression, heart attack, stroke, and even death,” states Dr. Longman of Alexandria Old Town Dental.

The Dental Library is an assembly of local, prominent dental professionals who have agreed to research and write about dental issues and developments for their local area.