An upcoming intensive workshop from the Dawson Academy will address evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disorders, one of the hottest topics in dentistry. According to Dawson Academy, approximately 40 million people in the United States are chronic sufferers from sleep disordered breathing problems. Less than 10% have been diagnosed or sought treatment.

Obstructive sleep apnea can severely impact the quality of life, as it can lead to an increased risk for heart excitation, high blood pressure, diabetes, memory impairment, daytime sleepiness, poor concentration, heart attacks and strokes. Every dental practice has potentially several hundred patients at risk; every community has several thousand patients at risk, the academy says.

Studies have shown that up to 40% of sleepy and fatigued patients remain untreated because they refuse the initial testing, which is typically an overnight polysomnogram (PSG), in a hospital or lab setting. Another 40% fail to be successfully treated because they are CPAP intolerant. That leaves a mere 20% success in treating a life-threatening health risk.

Dentists can play a key role in this medical arena in that they can screen patients with home monitor devices that are simple and accurate, they can refer appropriate screened patients to sleep physicians after they are fully aware of their condition, and they can treat patients who have a simple “social problem,” ie, snoring, but no apnea, very successfully, with oral appliances. Additionally, dentists can successfully treat patients who have mild to moderate apnea through oral appliance therapy, following a sleep physicianʼs referral. They can also treat CPAP intolerant patients with oral appliances under the sleep physicianʼs guidance, and can titrate oral appliances and evaluate their effectiveness after an initial PSG study, using the home monitor. Finally, dentists can form a strong partnership with its medical community through organizing systems for the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disorders.

This workshop will be held June 7-8, 2013, in St. Petersburg, FL. Intended for general dentists and specialists, it offers 15 CE credits. Tuition cost is $1,495 per doctor.

The goal of this workshop is to equip each participant/team, to gain the knowledge and tools, to immediately go home and begin integrating dental sleep medicine into their Dawson philosophy practice.

Learning Objectives:

• How to screen every patient in your practice for sleep disorders.

• How to utilize a home monitor to screen and interpret snoring, oxygen desaturation, central and obstructive sleep apneas, and determine the Apnea/Hypopnea Index(AHI).

• How to communicate with the local Sleep Physician and Sleep Lab Technicians.

• How to complete an appropriate medical work up, approved for medical insurance reimbursement.

• How to utilize appropriate medical codes and write appropriate medical letters, to communicate with physicians and insurance companies.

• What appliance options are most effective.

• How to collect records for appliance fabrication.

• Appliance placement made easy.

• Titration steps for proper positioning of the mandible to maximize airway volume.

• How to market a Dental Sleep Medicine practice.

For more information and to register, click here.