Dental Sleep Medicine Insider March 2017 | Page 19

When I made my first dental device 17 years ago , dental sleep medicine was much less sophisticated , and the number of dental devices was far fewer . Today , thanks to dentists like you , yes , YOU , awareness of sleep disordered breathing is increasing at a faster pace .

devices simply can no longer be ignored .

So we are gaining ground . Patients are more aware ; dentists are more aware ; physicians are more aware , but we still have a long way to go . We need to continue to fight for a larger market share . 5 % is not enough . We need more dentists to pick up the phone and call the patient ’ s primary care doc and discuss a plan to get their mutual patient sleep tested and treated . If just 1000 dentists did that once a week , a year later , 52,000 physicians would be more knowledgeable about dental devices and more likely to refer a patient to the dentist .

Let ’ s get this party started ! 1 . Screen your patients

2 . Call the patient ’ s physician and have a meaningful

LET ’ S GET THIS PARTY STARTED ! 1 . Screen your patients

2 . Call the patient ’ s physician and have a meaningful conversation ( I promise that it WILL help your practice grow !)

3 . Get out of your comfort zone and start speaking to public groups .

conversation ( I promise that it WILL help your practice grow !)

3 . Get out of your comfort zone and start speaking to public groups .

DR . RICHARD DRAKE

Co-Founder of DS3 and Dental Sleep Solutions