Reasons to Attend ACSDD 2017

The Academy of Clinical Sleep Disorders Discipline (ACSDD) is dedicated to bringing together thought-provoking leaders from the medical and dental community to share evidence-based sleep disorder knowledge.  The dental community has a unique opportunity to help identify patients with sleep disordered breathing and to potentially treat some of these patients with oral appliances.  They need, however, to partner with the medical community to diagnose the patient’s condition and together determine the best treatment plan for that patient.  The 8^th annual sleep medicine collaborative meeting is October 27^th and 28^th in stunning Scottsdale Arizona.  I have my tickets to be there and will be joined by my colleague Shirlene “Charlie” O’Russa representing Whip Mix.

Many of you may have already heard Dr. James Metz speak on how comprehensive dental care demands that the airway be protected.  He is so passionate on the subject that he runs The METZ Center™ for Sleep Apnea and has taken a leadership role with the American Thoracic Society (ATS).   At the ACSDD meeting he will be giving a review of Dental literature along with Dr. Jagdeep Bijwadia’s review of Medical literature.  Dr. Metz will also be speaking on Surgical Orthodontics for Maximum Improvement of Airway.  Orthodontists’ knowledge of facial structure and alignment support a natural inclusion of protecting airway in every day dentistry.  I am looking forward to discussions on what we have learned from cutting-edge research and technology to provide clinical solutions.

There will be a session on behavior therapy relating to cognitive-behavior therapy for insomnia (CBT-1) and behavioral sleep medicine (BSM) by Dr. Don Townsend.   While dentists may not be addressing the majority of issues here, they may find that body sleep position impacts airway which could simplify the treatment plan.  I will be listening for dialog on body positon, and by how using a home sleep test with flexible software one might be able to look at the data and estimated AHI numbers by focusing on specific sleep positions.

Team members are encouraged to join the meeting as well with special sessions on self-driven leadership, how to present oral appliance therapy to the patient, and titration of the oral appliances.

Of course there will be many other like-minded organizations at the meeting.  Charlie and I will be entertaining at the Whip Mix table.  We hope you will stop by to say hi and to pick up free literature on the product of your choice.

Many studies have been completed on the links between bruxism and airway.  Using a home sleep monitor that tracks movements of the masseter in conjunction with airway provides dentists with an extra edge for treating their patients.

Nox T3 Home Monitoring System

Every day medical experts and sleep labs use the Nox T3 home monitoring system to collect airway data.  Now, with a system designed for dentistry, the Nox T3 collects bruxism data in conjunction with airflow, oxygen saturation, heart rate, body position, and audio … 14 channels in all.  The system is very easy to use and comfortable to wear.  The Noxturnal software that is part of this system is meant to be shared with medical doctors for a diagnosis of sleep apnea.  With this medical diagnosis, the best treatment plan, possibly CPAP therapy or a sleep appliance, can be determined for the patient.   If an oral appliance is used, test again to provide medical doctors with objective AHI data on the effectiveness of treatment.

Questions for the Team: 

1. How is the bruxism data determined with this system?
2. Does this system provide the data needed to determine the AHI number?
3. What is the difference between the home sleep tests and the lab sleep studies?

GemPro Wellness Product

Objective data makes all the difference when trying to determine the appropriate treatment plan.  If you have a patient with signs and symptoms of airway issues, share a visual showing their airway struggles during sleep and encourage them to see a medical specialist.  This system provides a comparison of bruxism with oxygen saturation with heart rate, body position, and audio.  Included with this system is an app on a tablet that will automatically email patient data to you if wifi in enabled.  For a study on what every dentist should know about sleep, bruxism, and sleep disordered breathing, click here.

Questions for the Team: 

1. Can this monitoring system be used to titrate appliances?
2. What type of bruxism data does this system provide?
3. How does the app on the tablet work?