{"id":13950,"date":"2022-05-17T10:54:46","date_gmt":"2022-05-17T14:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.somnomed.com\/en\/?p=13950"},"modified":"2022-05-17T10:56:15","modified_gmt":"2022-05-17T14:56:15","slug":"somnomed-academy-growing-your-dental-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.somnomed.com\/restassuretest\/somnomed-academy-growing-your-dental-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"SomnoMed Academy & Growing Your Dental Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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SomnoMed Academy & Growing Your Dental Practice<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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SomnoMed Academy is your own online dental sleep education portal for your practice! Below, we explore some initial resources to get you started.<\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Growing Your Dental Practice<\/b><\/p>

Every dental practice has an abundance of patients who can benefit in some way from dental sleep medicine. Successfully finding and treating these patients takes commitment and persistence on behalf of the entire team – but we promise that it\u2019s well worth the effort!<\/p>

The role of a dental practitioner is to:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2022 Recognize oral signs and symptoms
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2022 Identify and screen patients who snore or may suffer from OSA
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2022 Educate patients on potential sleep-disordered breathing issues
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2022 Promote potential patients to be tested (PSG\/HST)
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2022 Provide alternate treatment to CPAP and surgery
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2022 Selection, fitting adjustments, and follow-up care of SomnoDent oral devices
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2022 Be a part of the treatment team along with physicians, dedicated to improving the patient\u2019s quality of life through better sleep<\/p>

In addition to important intel, as a member of SomnoMed Academy, you will also receive detailed oral device information, advice on how to place and order for your first case, compelling and useful marketing materials, and more!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

So – what are some useful tips to begin?<\/p>

Tips From SomnoMed Academy\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>

Tip #1 – Education<\/i><\/p>

The first thing we advise that interested dentists should do is educate themselves and their staff on the practice and particulars of dental sleep medicine today.\u00a0We recommend starting with our SomnoMed Academy training pages<\/b>, as it\u2019s important that your entire dental team is on-boarded and trained in OSA treatment from screening, to medical billing, to sleep testing.<\/p>

To ensure your staff and your practice is successful throughout the entire OSA treatment process, be a firm believer in confidently and repeatedly sharing the \u201cwhy\u201d behind what you do with your team. Don’t just declare that your practice is going to \u201cdo\u201d sleep appliances, then expect everyone to be on board. Instead, educate the team on how exciting this field is, and how much real impact they can have on their patient\u2019s lives.<\/b><\/p>

Another way to address your patients\u2019 concerns confidently and accurately regarding comfort and fit of any SomnoDent oral device? Wear one for yourself! The first-hand knowledge obtained in wearing a SomnoDent will help you overcome your concerns, answer your patient\u2019s questions with confidence, and strengthen the trust between you and your patients.<\/b><\/p>

Tip #2 – Connect With Physicians<\/i><\/p>

Sleep physicians want to work with dentists who are educated about OSA and who understand the value of teamwork \u2013 both inside and outside their practice.\u00a0 Some physicians struggle to find a local dentist who is qualified in the comprehensive treatment of OSA.\u00a0To be a successful dental sleep medicine practitioner, you must network and ensure that your skills are known within the medical community.\u00a0Ultimately \u2013 for the best medical interests of patients \u2013 the dental sleep medicine model relies on a collaborative, referral-based relationship between a sleep physician and a dentist<\/b>.\u00a0This relationship involves collaboration from the start, so that patients understand the process for diagnosis, treatment options, and the roles of their care providers.\u00a0<\/p>

As a dentist, you can screen patients for OSA, but unfortunately, you are unable to diagnose, as the diagnosis must come from a board-certified physician.\u00a0Additionally, a physician is unable to fabricate, titrate, and fit a patient with an oral appliance.\u00a0Therefore, it is crucial to establish a strong physician partnership.<\/b><\/p>

Dentists who file and accept medical insurance claims including Medicare are preferred by physicians. Not accepting medical insurance can deter physicians from sending referrals!<\/p>

As more physicians become aware of your knowledge, resources, and collaborative efforts, it will become easier to initiate and persuade them to send new referrals to your practice.\u00a0 However, once you foster more referrals from physicians, you will have to ensure that your staff is properly trained for sleep protocols within your dental practice.<\/p>

It\u2019s our <\/span>Medical Initiative\u2122<\/sup> to work collaboratively with\u00a0dentists and\u00a0physicians in pursuit of a common, universal commitment: to treat more OSA patients, more effectively. Join us in this commitment here: <\/b>https:\/\/somnomed.co\/en\/dentists\/dentists-contact\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>

Tip #3 – Screen Your Patients<\/i><\/p>

Within your dental practice, dental teams can begin to integrate dental sleep therapies by starting sleep-focused conversations with patients. It\u2019s amazing how adding the question, \u201cDo you, or anyone in your family, snore?\u201d to the standard medical questionnaire can help uncover a huge population in need of care!<\/b> Asking a simple question can open the door to this rapidly growing field.<\/p>

The best way to find your undiagnosed patients is by conducting a survey of your patient base. You can do this by providing an OSA screening tool such as the <\/b>STOP Bang<\/b><\/span><\/a> or Epworth Sleepiness surveys.<\/b><\/p>

Screening your dental patients for sleep apnea on a consistent basis is a great primary starting point, but it is a task that you and your entire office have to be on the same page about, especially when it comes to building a base of potential patients.\u00a0From our experience, the best results come from practices who have trained their staff, gained personal experience by having a device of their own, and who screen each patient that comes into their practice.<\/b><\/p>

Tip #4 – Utilize Your Hygienists<\/i><\/p>

Hygienists have an extremely important role in the dental sleep practice.\u00a0<\/b>As they are responsible for performing a review of the patient\u2019s medical and dental history at each appointment, they are provided with ample opportunity to screen them for sleep apnea.\u00a0The screening can be as simple as reviewing questions like:<\/p>