Dental Sleep Medicine Insider February 2016 | Page 3

IN BED WITH THE EDITOR Jason Tierney Editor-in-chief WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A DENTAL SLEEP MEDICINE PRACTICIONER? O ver the past ten years, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with thousands of dentists about the topic of dental sleep medicine (DSM). I’ve found myself using the phrase, “in your dental sleep medicine practice” ad nauseum. Recently, I’ve thought about that phrase quite a bit. What does it mean to be a DSM practitioner? The Dental Sleep Medicine Insider [email protected] 314-882-7746 Frequently, I speak with dentists that are afraid of treating SDB patients. There seems to be a prevailing, unspoken misperception that if you’re going to treat SDB patients that you have to be “all in.” Treating these patients doesn’t mean that you have to grow a professorial beard, wear a monocle, and effortlessly cite arcane literature. It does mean that you must follow a standard of care, preferably some semblance of those set forth by the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM). This means that you should have a solid protocol for the following: 3 • Screening your patients to identify those at high risk for SDB • Testing to objectively quantify their disease. This requires a physician’s diagnosis • Treating them appropriately. This entails a grasp on the designs of a few key devices and understanding of some nondental treatment modalities • Billing to ensure you’re compensated for your potentially life-saving treatment None of this sounds that difficult, does it? You don’t have to go all in. When you started offering Invisalign, did you read every ortho paper? What about when you started placing implants? Did you feel illequipped to get started without attending every gathering of oral surgeons? Of course not. You don’t have to completely transition your practice to DSM to treat patients any more than you have to become an oral surgeon to offer implants. Establish a baseline of knowledge. Get your fingers wet. Seek knowledge and help your patients. They need you.