TMD Program - Day One, Morning Session
“Practical TMD: How to evaluate, diagnose and treat the most common TMJ problems.”
TMJ disorders are one of those areas where almost every dentist feels uncomfortable. In dental school we didn’t get much classroom information, and little or no clinical experience. Our treatments in practice are often hit and miss, without clarity on why sometimes we hit, and other times we miss. In this lecture Dr. Spencer will review the relevant anatomy and discuss simple examination, diagnosis and treatment techniques as well as when to know to refer, allowing you to help many more people.
Learning Objectives:
- A review the relevant anatomy of the head and neck
- Understand basic principles of focused examination and evaluation for TMD
- Have a straightforward way to diagnose the most common TM disorders
- Understand the treatments for the most common TM disorders
Sleep Program - Friday Afternoon Lecture, leading into Saturday with Lecture & Hands-On
“Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Looking beyond the teeth and saving lives!”
Dentists are uniquely positioned among healthcare providers to easily evaluate for signs of obstructive sleep apnea. Oral appliance therapy performed by a qualified dentist can also be an effective treatment, literally saving lives. In this lecture Dr. Spencer will review the basics of normal sleep, snoring and obstructive sleep apnea in adults and children. You will most likely be thinking that YOU and everyone you know must have sleep apnea before he is through! Don’t worry though, he will also cover diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, including the dentist’s role. If you or someone close to you may have sleep apnea (like your patients) you owe it to yourself and them to take this course and potentially change, or literally save, their lives. This course is a prerequisite for the 3-hour hands-on dental sleep medicine program.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand normal sleep and how to improve sleep
- Understand how obstructive sleep apnea affects adults and children
- Become familiar with the dental aspects of screening for OSA
- Understand possible problems and side effects of oral appliance therapy
Dental Sleep Medicine Hands-On
In this hands-on course we will discuss all the practical matters related to treatment of patients with obstructive sleep apnea from initial screening, referral for diagnosis, appliance selection, records, fitting and follow up. Hands-on components will include appliance selection, bite registration and chairside technique for morning occlusal guide fabrication.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand how to take a patient from initial screening to final follow up
- Be able to select an appropriate appliance based on what is most likely to work best for a specific patient
- Understand how to take a bite registration for a custom oral appliance
- Be able to fabricate a chairside morning occlusal guide to help avoid bite changes and tooth movement
Click here to download the brochure for this event, which includes information on class schedules and how to sign up.