Boost your DentistryIQ: Obstructive sleep apnea 101 for dentists
Has your practice noticed more patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) or obstructive sleep apnea? Katie Phillips, DDS, president of American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, has a practice that focuses on orofacial pain, TMD, and sleep disorders. She tells Dr. Pamela Maragliano-Muniz that her practice has been busier since reopening in mid-May because people are experiencing stress-related disorders that her practice is able to treat.
She realizes that many of her peers are noticing the same symptom increases in their patients. Dr. Phillips points out that dentists are key in identifying these disorders because they usually see patients more often than physicians. Dentists can then choose to treat these patients or refer them to a specialist.
If they decide to proceed with treatment, Dr. Phillips says a good education and experience are key before working with these patients. Knowledge about sleep disorders, symptoms, appliances, side effects, and much more is central to successful treatment.
Learn what else Dr. Phillips has to share with her peers who are seeing more patients with new symptoms. Ultimately, do they treat or do they refer?
Pamela Maragliano-Muniz, DMD, is the chief editor of DentistryIQ and editorial co-director of Through the Loupes. Based in Salem, Massachusetts, Dr. Maragliano-Muniz began her clinical career as a dental hygienist. She went on to attend Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, where she earned her doctorate in dental medicine. She then attended the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Dental Medicine, where she became board-certified in prosthodontics. Dr. Maragliano-Muniz owns a private practice, Salem Dental Arts, and lectures on a variety of clinical topics. You may contact her at [email protected].
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