DentistryOnline courseGnathology
Bring dental sleep medicine into a general practice: OSA screening, oral appliance therapy and working with physicians
John H. Tucker, a general dentist practising in Erie, Pennsylvania since 1982, walks through obstructive sleep apnea from the dentist’s side in Sleep Apnea in Dentistry: Practical Screening, OAT & Follow-Up. Nine lessons over roughly 7 hours explain sleep physiology and comorbidities, upper-airway anatomy, screening tools and home testing, the choice between CPAP, surgery and oral appliances, bite registration and titration, and how to build a sleep-focused team.
- 9lessons
- 7 hof video
- 190+appliance designs discussed
What you’ll be able to do
- Speak the sleep-medicine vocabulary — AHI, RDI, RERAs, hypopnea — with referring physicians
- Screen chairside using STOP-Bang, Mallampati, BMI and the Epworth scale
- Link severe tooth wear and tongue anatomy to possible airway problems
- Choose and calibrate an oral appliance, finding the right vertical and protrusive position
- Anticipate side effects of OAT and follow patients appointment by appointment
Inside the course
Why dentists belong in sleep care
Tucker opens with sleep stages, deprivation and snoring, then spends more than an hour and a half on the medical burden of OSA: obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, behaviour, a possible cancer link and the role of nasal breathing.
Airway, screening and imaging
A short anatomy lesson covers the pharyngeal dilator muscle and the “fat tongue”. Videos of apnoeic breathing, polysomnography versus home sleep tests, and a brief look at what CBCT can and cannot add follow.
From treatment choice to titration
After comparing CPAP with surgical options such as UPPP and MMA, the course turns to appliance mechanics, design selection and a 90-minute clinical bite registration using the Airway Metrics system and a nasal dilator.
Building the service
The last lesson covers relationships with sleep labs, team roles and explaining the oral–systemic link to patients.
Built for
- General dentists new to sleep dentistryA practical route to identifying snorers and apnoeic patients already in the chair.
- Dentists whose patients reject CPAPClear criteria for when an oral appliance is a sensible alternative.
Curriculum
Basics of Sleep (1 h 09 min) 5 topics
- Learn the sleep community proper terminology that will allow you to communicate directly to sleep disease diagnostic specialists such as physicians
- Discover how to increase patients’ quality of life by taking care of their snoring
- Understand the key role of dentists in detecting patients affected by sleep apnea
- Start looking beyond teeth and focusing on the oral cavity
- What is sleep: SAS diagnostic tests, sleep active ingredients, effects of sleep deprivation
Comorbidities of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (1 h 35 min) 5 topics
- Presentation of some definitions, useful criteria and index : Apnea, Hypopnea, RERAs, AHI, RDI, CPAP machine
- Explanation and analysis of the most common OSA comorbidities such as obesity, diabetes, coronary disease, stroke, cardiovascular disorders, behavior problems
- An innovative point of view: the relation between OSA and cancer
- The relation between sleep disorders,age, weight, and gender
- Discussion on the impact of the nasal breathing on sleep quality
Anatomy of the Upper Airway (19 min) 3 topics
- An anatomy overview: presentation of the upper airway and its section and its pharyngeal dilator muscle
- Explaining the tongue and the surprising fact that we only see a small part of it
- Fat tongue and its relationship with OSA
Screening for Sleep Related Breathing Disorders (23 min) 4 topics
- View of different videos of sleep apnea with a focus on the paradoxical breathing and the physiological response of the patient’s body
- Sleep apnea symptoms and the relation between severe OSA and severe tooth wear
- Presentation of PSG: the diagnostic device that specialists use in their labs
- Presentation of HST (Home Sleep Testing), a class of devices available for private people for domestic OSA diagnosis
The Role of 3D Imaging (6 min) 3 topics
- A very short video focused on the presentation of the 3D scan-technique, CBCT
- A brief explanation of the differences between a 2D scan and a 3D scan
- Pros&Cons : Can CBCT change my diagnosis? No. Can CBCT change my treatment? Yes because you can see if there’s some dentistry to do!
Treatment options (45 min) 5 topics
- Some tips to track Sleep Related Breathing Disorders; the Stop Bang, Mallampatti system, BMI, ESS
- Learn to pay attention to some clinical signs in order to detect in time SRBD on time
- Non-surgical treatment of OSA: CPAP (Pros&Cons)
- Surgical treatment of OSA: Tracheostomy, somnoplasty, UPPP, MMA
- How to manage medical billing regarding of OSA treatment
Treatment of Sleep Related Breathing Disorders with Oral Appliance Therapy (38 min) 4 topics
- How oral appliances work; what’s the goal of OAT?
- Side effects of oral appliance therapy
- There are over 190 cleared designs; How can we choose a successful appliance for a specific patient?
- Comparison between OAT and surgery/ non-surgery techniques like CPAP
Bite registration and treatment of oral appliance (1 h 31 min) 5 topics
- Presentation of a clinical video of a bite registration using Airway Metrics System and “Mute” nose dilator
- How to find out the proper vertical and horizontal position for a patient’s bite to mitigate his snoring
- How to calibrate the oral appliances (mandibular and tongue position)
- Complications and side effects: OAT can impact the oral structures; what could you do to prevent this?
- Treatment protocol for pre-diagnosed patients (appointment by appointment)
How to start your sleep dentistry practice – Marketing advices (33 min) 3 topics
- Discover how to market the fact you’re treating sleep related breathing disorders patients successfully
- Some tips to start your sleep practice; focus on the importance of having relationships with sleep labs and physicians
- Learn how to organize your sleep dentistry team in order to start working on this new business
Before you buy
Is the billing and marketing advice US-specific?
Medical billing for OSA treatment and practice-building tips reflect a US setting, so adapt them to your own health system.
How much hands-on clinical footage is there?
The bite registration and appliance calibration lesson, about 1.5 hours, is the main clinical demonstration; the rest is lecture-based.
Do I get CME credit or a certificate?
No. Clinicapedia provides the educational content only — no CME or CE credits, MOC points or certificates of completion are included with this product.
Specifications
| Format | Online video course |
|---|---|
| Instructor | John H. Tucker |
| Contents | 9 lessons |
| Duration | About 7 hours |
| Access | Lifetime, self-paced |
| Department | Dentistry |
| Delivery | Instant download · lifetime re-download |
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