Many dentists face a shortcoming in their non-clinical skillset when they begin to provide oral appliance therapy, as it requires close collaboration with physicians and other healthcare providers. This level of collaboration requires skills that are not typically taught in dental school.
The American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) recently launched a Practice Management Course to close this skill gap. It allows dentists to learn from professionals across the healthcare spectrum, including a clinical psychologist, a nurse, a healthcare attorney and a panel of medical billing experts. The course will take place at the Renaissance Orlando SeaWorld, February 28-March 1, 2020.

“Dentists screening and treating OSA is part of a larger trend in healthcare, in which healthcare providers are becoming increasingly collaborative,” says Paul Jacobs, DDS, DABDSM, course co-chair, in a release. “We’ve assembled a team of highly experienced practitioners so that dentists can learn what worked well for them, and just as importantly, what didn’t.”

Course co-chair Ken Mogell, DMD, DABDSM, says, “Learning how to communicate with physicians and bill medical insurance can be challenging for a dental practice. Now that I’ve had many years of experience specializing exclusively in dental sleep medicine, I’m glad to share best practices with other dentists.

“The AADSM Practice Management Course will ultimately result in improved patient care through the sharing of proven best practices.”

The Practice Management Course faculty includes: Emerson Wickwire, PhD, associate professor of Psychiatry and Medicine and director of the insomnia program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine; Belinda Postol, RN, business manager at a dental sleep medicine practice; Scott Craig, CEO of Midwest Dental Sleep Center since 2007; Brianna McKinney, founder and president of Bloom Communications, which specializes in healthcare clients; and dentists who practice in a wide variety of settings ranging from hospitals to general dental offices.

“I wish this course had existed when I began learning about dental sleep medicine,” Jacobs says.