Dental Sleep Medicine Insider September 2015 | Page 12

DENTAL SLEEP MEDICINE:

Dr. Barry Glassman

In 2012 I wrote an article entitled “The Hidden
Challenges of Dental Sleep Medicine.” In the article
the problems associated with attempting to practice
Dental Sleep Medicine were identified. Dentists have
been taught course after course how to treat apnea –
and many courses teach the treatment process well.
The courses also emphasize how successful one can
be using unrealistic numbers as proof. Why are these
numbers unrealistic? It is because of the hidden
challenges.

r
e
h
t
o
n
A
HIDDEN CHALLENGE:

Oral Appliance Therapy and Medical Insurance

Courses in Dental Sleep Medicine abound.
Every weekend there is another course on this “hot” topic.
Every week dentists are leaving courses excited about the
key role they can potentially play in their patient’s health.
Every Monday many return to their offices fully believing
that this valuable information they have just learned will
result in improved health care and a significant revenue
stream.
As the weeks progress, dentists typically experience overwhelming frustration when they are faced with the
“hidden challenges” that were not revealed in their
continuing education courses. As a result, dentists have
taken sleep courses and either never made or stopped
making appliances.
There are many hidden challenges that face the dentist
who enters the field of sleep medicine. In 2011, I wrote an
article entitled “The Hidden Challenges of Sleep Medicine.”
In the article many challenges were identified. These
included the difficulties of coordinating our e