IN BED WITH THE EDITOR
Jason Tierney
Editor-in-chief
IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN,
UNTIL YOU MAKE IT HAPPEN. PERIOD.
I
’ve spoken to thousands
of dentists over the past 10
years regarding dental sleep
medicine
implementation.
Too frequently, a dentist says
that she’s really interested in
making this life-saving facet of
dentistry a more integral part
of her practice. She says that
more patients are asking about
dental treatments for snoring
and sleep apnea. Maybe she
has taken a course or two. She
may have encountered some
difficulties with the medical
billing beast. Then, it comes.
I saw it coming but hoped
against hope that she wouldn’t
say it. It’s like giving your kid
a sippy cup of chocolate milk
without a lid and then, in slow
motion, it plays out before
you… You knew it was coming…
and…. then…. it happens.
The Dental Sleep Medicine Insider
[email protected]
314-882-7746
Like chocolate milk on a new
rug, it spills forth. I can detect
the dreaded statement with the
utterance of the first syllable.
“I’m not doing enough of this
right now. I’m going to wait until
I’ve got some more cases under
my belt.” It pains me to even
type those words. What is the
mysterious quantity “enough
of this right now?” What is
the proverbial tipping point?
This logic is grossly flawed.
Did Tiger Woods golf for
five years before he decided
3
to hire a coach? Did Ken
Griffey Jr. wait until he was
the American League MVP
prior to consulting a hitting
coach? Did Michael Phelps
train for the Olympics on his
own, wading and floundering
aimlessly for years before he
decided he may want to seek
outside help? OF COURSE NOT.
That just sounds ridiculous.
Don’t develop bad habits
and don’t wait for things to
miraculously materialize on
their own. It won’t happen.
Think about other procedures
you’ve successfully introduced
into the practice. What about
Invisalign? Did you take courses,
talk to your team, and develop
a plan? Did your hygienists
start identifying these patients?
Did you talk to the team
about the workflow? I’ll bet
that these actions resulted in
more Invisalign candidates
and ultimately, more patients
that said “YES” to treatment.
Dental
Sleep
Medicine
implementation is no different.
There are companies and
organizations that can help.
Some do a much better job than
others. Do your homework
and identify a dental sleep
solution to help you help your
patients. You can do this. You
should do this. Make it happen.