Monthly Archives: June 2016

Sleep Organizations

Join Us In Dallas For The Most Turn-key Intro. To Sleep 101 Course In The Country Through The American Sleep And Breathing Academy

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Many dentists start out on an arduous road with road blocks everywhere in dental sleep medicine. It doesn’t have to be like that. When you sign up for vendor sponsored courses they try to sell you products which are often old, obsolete and not beneficial at all to the success of the practice. How many of you have purchased vendor equipment that is sitting in your office which you have never even taken out of the box? We’ve all been there. This is why the ASBA does not allow vendor sponsored training at the intro to sleep courses. ASBA mentors are the top dentists in the country in treating sleep and have experienced all of the pot holes and road blocks so you don’t have to.

David Gergen and Dr. Rod Willey

David Gergen and Dr. Rod Willey

The next Intro to Sleep 101 course will be a two day event held in Dallas, TX on August 19-20. While all doctors and their staff members will benefit from the information provided, the agenda is going to focus on getting to the basics. It will be an in depth course on introduction to dental sleep medicine for anyone interested in treating OSA in their practice and also for the doctor who has a number of cases under their belt, but has trouble getting paid or successful results.

David Gergen, Executive Director of the ASBA and dental icon, designed the course to be taught by dentists who have formed their own business models for success. After spearheading the largest sleep apnea awareness event in the world that attracted 3,000 attendees in January 2016, Dr. Neal Seltzer of Long Island, NY stated, “David Gergen has done more for dental sleep medicine in the last four years than the entire industry has done in the last 30 combined.” Through the last four years, Gergen has brought NFL legends to the ASBA team that have become advocates to not only dental sleep medicine, but to the members of the academy as well. ASBA members have partnered with Pro Player Health Alliance and NFL stars such as Eric Dickerson, Tony Dorsett, Michael Irvin, Roy Green, Ed Too Tall Jones and Derek Kennard. It is almost certain that Gergen will be bringing iconic Cowboys to this event for autographs, pictures and possible marketing opportunities.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Rod Willey, Diplomate of the ASBA and the largest standalone dental sleep practice in the country with over 60 cases/month and holds the record for 106 successfully treated cases in a single month. As a master of navigating the medical world, he will be teaching you techniques that will put you in network with insurance companies so you can spend your time and energy giving your patients a better quality of life instead of losing it on back end work. Dr. Stacey Layman- also a Diplomate of the ASBA- a proven winner in dental sleep medicine practicing in the beautiful Arrowhead Lakes Community of Arizona and Owner of Go Go Billing, will enlighten guests on the secrets to billing in office for oral appliance therapy. Additional speakers will spotlight staff training, things they wish they knew before treating sleep apnea and how to be more involved in the community. This course will give you an easy-to-follow cook book for success in dental sleep medicine.

Don’t let the amateurs teach you bad techniques. Learn from the experts who have years and thousands of cases behind them. Not only will you receive a wealth of information, attendees will be granted 16 CES and a membership with the ASBA. Sign up for Intro to Sleep 101 to receive instant access to the ASBA’s vast library of sleep articles, journals and papers. In addition, You will also receive Breathless, the official weekly newsletter of the ASBA.

 

To learn more about the American Sleep and Breathing Academy go to:

Americansleepandbreathingacademy.com

 

Event Details

Date:                 August 19-20, 2016

 

Location:         Cooper Hotel and Conference Center

12230 Preston Road
Dallas, TX 75230

 

Any questions please call 602-478-9713 or direct them via email to info@myasba.com

 

Americansleepandbreathingacademy.com

Alan Hickey

Alan Hickey

Publisher of Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy Journal the Official publication of the American Sleep and Breathing Academy, the Journal is a clinical and technical publication for dental and medical professionals.

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Sleep in the News, Sleep Organizations

The ASBA Feeds 40 New Patients To Its Members in Under a Month!

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This year at a dental sleep meeting in Colorado, there was a noticeably different buzz going on amongst its attendees. The topic of conversation within groups of doctors was not the speakers or lecture content but the ever growing American Sleep and Breathing Academy “ASBA”. Why? The answer to that question is quite simple. The ASBA is the only Academy that works tirelessly for its members, both individually and collectively. With a full week still left in June, this month alone, the ASBA has placed 40 new patients with Academy Doctors. In addition to feeding patients directly to our members, the backing of former and current NFL and NBA stars such as  Marcus Allen Eric Dickerson, Chuck Foreman and Roy Green, is a marketing gold mine that is exclusive to the American Sleep and Breathing Academy membership.

ASBA Member Sleep Apnea
Eric Dickerson and David Gergen

In addition, the ASBA promotes non vendor education as another way to advance the profession and push for oral appliance therapy as the benchmark treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). ASBA membership affords you the ability, through online and in person course options, to receive the newest information in treatment, billing and case studies from the most successful dentists treating OSA in the nation. In addition, the moment you become a member you will receive constant updates regarding state/federal guidelines and reimbursement information. This is just one more way that the ASBA is giving our doctors a leg up on non-members.

If you thought that wasn’t enough, congressmen/congresswomen and special committees formed by the ASBA are fighting politically for dentists as a whole. In an industry where CPAP is vastly over prescribed and reimbursement for it is plummeting, one of the most important goals of the Academy is to catapult oral appliance therapy into the go to treatment for OSA. On September 27th, key members of the American Sleep and Breathing Academy, along with NFL icons Roy Green, Eric Dickerson, Marcus Allen, Congressmen Marty Russo, Congressmen Jim McGovern, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, and Senator Chris Dodd will be in front of a special congressional committee to discuss just that.

Aside from aggressively fighting for your rights as a dentist in the sleep medicine space, from a marketing standpoint, the ASBA is unrivaled. The Academy magazine, Sleep and Wellness, features articles on ASBA members every issue and distribution in over 100,000 medical and non-medical offices gives our members a reach that they could not obtain on their own.

Now is your time. Do not be left behind while the American Sleep and Breathing Academy and its members continue to revolutionize dental sleep medicine. Join us and let us fight for you!

Membership

Alan Hickey

Alan Hickey

Publisher of Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy Journal the Official publication of the American Sleep and Breathing Academy, the Journal is a clinical and technical publication for dental and medical professionals.

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Heat-Cured Hard Acrylic VS Dual Laminate Appliances

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Weekend courses teaching oral appliance therapy are conducted all over the country and with over 100 commercially available oral appliances it can be really difficult to navigate the appliance selection process. Considering the mechanical functioning of the appliance is essential when determining which one to choose for treatment, but often times the material used to construct the appliance is equally as important and overlooked. Two of the most generally known materials are heat-cured hard acrylic and dual laminates. Studies have shown that while there are advantages and disadvantages to each material, most doctors favor heat-cured hard acrylic appliances because they have a compelling superiority over the latter when it comes to fitting, repairs, longevity and patient comfort.

Some of the most pressing issues in doctors’ offices are fitting the appliance correctly in the patient’s mouth. Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious medical condition that can sometimes be so severe that doctors don’t have time to send back an appliance to be remade if it doesn’t fit. National statistics show a lower percentage of remakes in hard acrylic formed appliances. The reason for this can partly be credited to ease of modification chairside due to minor cosmetic dental changes. If anything changes in the patient’s mouth for example, the addition of a crown, a completely new appliance must be created as realignment can’t be done in laminate appliances. On a hard acrylic appliance, the appliance can sometimes be ground to re-fit. Furthermore, the addition of clasps in hard acrylic appliances provide further retention whereas a laminate appliance does not allow for it to contain clasps.

Repairs are inevitable when it comes to oral appliances. Fortunately when repairs are necessary, the ramifications can be minimized simply by the choice of appliance design. Doctors can take a more basic approach to repairing hard acrylic appliances including, but not limited to, effortlessly bonding new acrylic to cracks or chips in their own. Mending a laminate appliance can become more complicated when considering the soft liner located on the inside. Many times that same soft layer has been shown to absorb moisture and start to yellow with bacteria. Unfortunately this is not a matter of repair, rather a matter of replacement.

Gergen’s Orthodontic Lab, which is the largest manufacturer of the Sleep Herbst in the country, has seen hard acrylic appliances last over to 20 years. Regrettably, the soft layer in laminate appliances always eventually loses the bond to the hard layer- meaning it will always peel apart over time, leading to the doctor sending it back to the manufacturing lab to be rebuilt.

Typically patient comfort is one of the cornerstones of the decision making process in choosing treatments. While each of the designs have equal amounts of pros and cons to patient satisfaction, time and time again there have been proven patterns and methods that demonstrate it is easier to overcome the cons associated with treatment via hard acrylic appliances. This is contrary to general belief being that dual laminates are more comfortable. Moreover, tongue space is greatly reduced in dual laminate appliances due to the extra layer being present.

All things considered, both hard acrylic and dual laminate appliances grant favorable benefits in many cases. Clearly though when taking into account the comparison of both designs regarding fitting, repairs, longevity and patient comfort the preferred choice when selecting one of the two is the hard acrylic design more often than not.

Alan Hickey

Alan Hickey

Publisher of Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy Journal the Official publication of the American Sleep and Breathing Academy, the Journal is a clinical and technical publication for dental and medical professionals.

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Special Committee In Washington To Look At Oral Appliance Therapy As Benchmark Therapy For OSA, Thanks To The ASBA And Our Team

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More great news coming from The American Sleep and Breathing Academy! It is no secret that the ASBA has been working tirelessly for the advancement of dental sleep medicine and, in September, the culmination of all of that hard work will come to fruition. Key members of the American Sleep and Breathing Academy, along with NFL icons such as Roy Green, and Congressman Marty Russo will be in front of a special congressional committee speaking about treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) with oral appliance therapy.

Spearheaded by Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo, this special committee was assigned a health and science aid to gather information on the effectiveness of oral appliance therapy in treating OSA. Congresswoman Eshoo’s main goals with forming this committee is to make oral appliances a benchmark therapy. The hope is that the information gathered within this committee, along with insight from these key ASBA members, will help to educate patients on all treatment options; an education that is not typically presented at the time of treatment. “In a world where CPAP is over prescribed and patient outcomes are less than ideal, this meeting of ASBA elites and political powerhouses will change the landscape of dental sleep medicine”, says David Gergen, Executive Director of the American Sleep and Breathing Academy.

The ASBA is the only Academy that is fighting for dentists in the space that we call sleep. There is strength in numbers and the ASBA currently has 770 members. It is the fastest growing academy in the World. Now is your opportunity to be a part of an organization that is paving the road for oral appliance therapy to be the benchmark in OSA treatment. Visit americansleepandbreathingacademy.com to join the movement.

Alan Hickey

Alan Hickey

Publisher of Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy Journal the Official publication of the American Sleep and Breathing Academy, the Journal is a clinical and technical publication for dental and medical professionals.

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