A new study conducted by Loyola University Health System is providing further evidence that floppy eyelids may be a sign of sleep apnea. The study found 53 percent of sleep apnea patients had upper eyelids that were lax and rubbery. A brief recap of that study is below, and the…
Let’s continue-on with our favorite acronym in sleep, S.E.T.U.P.. At this point we’ve been through the S,E,T, and most recently the U for understanding. Today we will focus on the P for presenting the case to your patient, or as we are labeling it, case presentation. The patient has had…
My favorite acronym for training dental practices in the best methods for improving their dental sleep medicine programs is S.E.T.U.P. This stands for Screen, Educate, Test, Understand, and Present. The S and E in S.E.T.U.P. is all about screening patients and educating staff on the best ways to initiate conversations…
Does untreated OSA increase your risk of cancer? Have you heard of the OSA and cancer connection? Seems OSA is linked to almost every disease and disorder you can think of. More and more studies are coming out linking OSA and other sleep disorders to some nasty diseases, and…
Getting Your At-Risk Patients Sleep Tested As dentists, we have very precise routines for pretty much everything we do: scheduling, billing, patient care, and everything else. Creating a routine that appropriately screens patients for sleep testing is one of the easiest ways you can start making dental sleep medicine…
Unusual OSA connections As a dental sleep program specialist, I have been lecturing on the topic of implementing a sleep apnea protocol to dentists for nearly ten years. As dental professionals, we’ve all been [hopefully] schooled on some of the most common signs of sleep apnea to look for…
The statistics are alarming: About 65% of Americans are now overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of obese adults jumped from 15% in 1980 to 27% in 1999. More than 15% of children from 6 to 19 years were overweight in 2000,…
Do you see patients with the following conditions? There may be an underlying issue: sleep apnea Scalloped tongue: Past studies have shown that having tongue scalloping can positively predict the presence of apneas or hypopneas and oxygen desaturation in 89% of cases. Overall, having scalloping is about 70 sensitive…
Interesting discoveries on OSA and women A recent article in the European Respiratory Journal states obstructive sleep apnea occurs in fifty percent of females ages 20-70 years old. Twenty percent of females have moderate and six percent have severe sleep apnea. Women with sleep apnea are less likely…
The connection between sleep apnea and Alzheimer’s progression has been widely discussed and studied over the years. A newer study linking the two, have experts believing that treating sleep apnea could slow the progression for those in the early stages of the incurable (as of yet!) disease. Valuable studies released…
‘Do you feel well rested?’ is one of the most important questions we can ask during the sleep apnea screening process. Daytime sleepiness is a major red flag that sleep apnea may exist. Another red flag is high blood pressure. In the patient chart, you would have noted any serious…
Upping your game As dentists, we are great observers of detail. However, we often do not transfer those observations to our written clinical records. Most of us are guilty of settling for what I often am forced to recognize as terrible dental notes. I think it’s easy for each…
Are you finding patients that state they are tired, fatigued, and sleepy during the day? These are indications of possible obstructive sleep apnea, and you may have a solution to their problem. Frequently when your body pulls you out of an apneic event it is accompanied by a micro-arousal. A…
Why do you wake up at night? What causes these awakenings that prevent sleeping through the night? How do these middle of the night interruptions lead to insomnia, the prolonged episodes where you desperately desire sleep yet cannot catch one wink let alone forty? Most insomniacs imagine stress, an overactive…
We’re adding online seminars to our 2018 Success in Sleep schedule – no travel required! The 8CEU Success in Sleep continuing education seminar will now be available live and online for dental offices around the country. A partnership between HST America and Medical Billing for Dentists, the online seminar will help…
I was given a very exciting opportunity to speak at a TEDx event in Albuquerque, covering my favorite topic “complex insomnia,” the term we use to designate the intricate link between insomnia and OSA/UARS. I knew the process to prepare was going to be intense, but it prove even more…
If you are a professional in the sleep industry, you likely heard about a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association at the beginning of this year entitled, “Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults: Screening, a US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement.” These recommendations are based on…
You may have heard a new drug has been approved to treat the problem of nocturia (those middle of the night urges that lead men and women to leave the bed and visit the bathroom to urinate). As covered by many news outlets in March of this year, the new…
Hot off the press, we’re adding a new Success in Sleep seminar date this November 3rd: New York City! East Coast practices, mark your calendars. We’ll open registration on the website as soon as the venue is locked in. This weekend we held our second seminar with a great group of dentists,…
Key topics This post continues on from Part 1, which you can view here. [02:30] Discussion on the Wilckodontic procedure [13:00] How far do you think the osteogenic orthodontics field can go? [18:30] Discussion on nocturia [20:00] What kinds of symptom changes help you judge the quantitative or qualitative success…
Key topics [02:30] How did you get started in dental sleep medicine? [13:00] How do you define success with oral appliance therapy? [24:00] What is the timetable for oral appliance adjustments and healing? [31:00] What are the other adjustments that dentists need to be thinking about besides the protrusion? [44:00]…
In general it is considered bad form to diagnose celebrities with medical conditions, though there is no scarcity of pundits willing to engage in speculation. I avoid this muck for the most part, but occasionally an opportunity arises to use what we know about a “case” to educate people on…
Survey: which marketing materials would help promote your sleep practice? We’re working on new materials to help our dentists effectively promote sleep apnea testing and treatment services at their practices. Help us determine which items are of most value by completing the survey below. As a thank you for participating, every submission counts…
**Due to popularity, webinars are being offered through 2018** We are offering FREE one-on-one webinars with leading sleep experts from HST America. Our concierge webinars are perfect for busy offices looking to get started or looking to improve a dental sleep program in their practice. If you’re interested in learning more…
Many factors contribute to a case acceptance. A sleep apnea patient will ask about costs and whether medical insurance will pay for sleep apnea testing and treatment. Commonly, patients inquire about comfort and convenience. Will the oral appliance be easy to wear, care for, and maintain? Preparing positive answers to…
Just as nasal breathing is critically important to any OSA/UARS patient who attempts PAP therapy, care should be taken to monitor nasal health in patients using oral appliance therapy (OAT). Every effort must be made to promote smooth nasal airflow and any nasal congestion issues must be aggressively treated, particularly…
Booth location Enter our free raffle Stop by our booth to enter to win a Sleep Apnea Starter Kit. We’re giving away three prizes, one each day! The kit contains: 1. Two tickets to any 2017 Success in Sleep Seminar date Admission to one of our 2017 Success in Sleep…
If you’re attending the CDA in Anaheim next week, be sure to come stop by booth #2042! We will be in town to chat about implementing and improving dental sleep medicine protocols. We have perfected our ‘zero dollar sleep protocol’, which reveals how to screen and test sleep apnea patients…
As a presenter at the HST America seminar series, Success in Sleep, I have the honor of sharing how to implement a sleep apnea treatment protocol into dental practices. Many dentists that come to learn with us have a personal reason that lead them into this area of interest. It may be a…
Refer patients in five simple steps! HST America specializes in diagnostic home sleep testing services for dentists. We have been working with sleep apnea patients for the last decade and are the only national testing program where units are hand-delivered and demonstrated. Referring patients is a quick and simple process,…
Appointment Cards Hot off the press: we have new appointment cards for use in your practice. Appointment cards are used at the time of home sleep test referral, as a take-home reminder for the patient. Front Side Smooth and velvety coating. Outlines basic information about home sleep testing and HST America…
Dentists have many things to consider when deciding to enter the field of dental sleep medicine. Much of the technical and policy side of entry into the field is outlined by organizations such as the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and The Metz Center offered Dr. James Metz, a…
In August 2014 a respiratory therapist asked my opinion on the marketing of oral devices as a substitution for PAP therapy. At the time, I wrote a lengthy post about the pros and cons of oral appliance therapy (OAT), with a particular focus on how dental devices can supplement PAP therapy.…
Appointments Interested in a one-on-one meeting? We’ll buy the coffee! Contact: Henry Armstrong Dental Sleep Program Manager Direct: (702) 389-4910 henrya@hstamerica.com Booth location
The Success in Sleep continuing education seminar is dedicated to helping dentists implement a sleep program through an innovative ‘zero dollar sleep protocol’ and concierge home sleep testing services. Upcoming seminar seats are available in April, June, and July in Orange County, Los Angeles and San Diego. (Las Vegas, NV)…
We want your home sleep test to run as smoothly as possible, when completed correctly the test should be a quick and painless experience. (And literal pain is never experienced!) We polled our staff for the top issues they encounter when administering a home sleep test and here’s what they said.…