The Clinician's Handbook for Dental Sleep Medicine

It has been estimated that 20 million Americans suffer from moderate to severe OSA, and at least one patient in five has mild OSA. The primary treatment prescribed by sleep physicians is CPAP, but patient compliance with this therapy is unacceptably low, between 25% and 50%. There is a significant opportunity for dentists to provide a viable alternative therapy—oral appliance therapy (OAT). OAT results in much better adherence to therapy than CPAP, and while OAT is not as efficacious as CPAP, this increased compliance results in comparable therapeutic results. Currently, a board-certified sleep physician is the only medical professional qualified to diagnose OSA and other sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBDs), so dentists must coordinate with a sleep physician to provide OAT. This book is the how-to guide, a gateway to a successful dental sleep medicine practice. Written by two experts in the field, it clearly delineates the dentist's role in the treatment of SRBDs and gives practical advice for how to incorporate dental sleep medicine into an existing dental practice, not to mention how to work with sleep physicians to best support patient care. In addition to step-by-step instructions for examination, appliance selection, and follow-up care, complications of OAT, legal issues, and medical insurance and Medicare considerations are included to fully prepare the dentist for the journey into dental sleep medicine.

About the Author

Ken Berley, DDS, JD, is a dentist and lawyer who, for the past 10 years, has focused his dental practice on the treatment of sleep-disordered breathing and temporomandibular disorders. He is also the president of a consulting firm offering in-office training on dental sleep medicine (DSM) and consent forms and documents to assist the DSM practice. Dr Berley is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine and regularly lectures in the areas of risk management and the development of a successful DSM practice. He has been published in Sleep Review magazine and other journals associated with sleep-disordered breathing, and he provides consulting services for various insurance companies and actively defends and advises dentists who are facing legal challenges. Steve Carstensen, DDS, started treating sleep problems in 1998 and maintains a private practice in Bellevue, Washington. He has completed a Mini-Residency in Sleep at the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine. He lectures internationally, directs sleep education at the Pankey Institute, and is a guest lecturer at Spear Education, University of the Pacific, and Louisiana State University Dental Schools. Since 2014, he has been editor-in-chief of Dental Sleep Practice Magazine.