December 2018
Spotlight of the Month
Dr. Robert J. Houchin DDS
Value Dental Centers, Multiple locations in AZ, CA & NV
We hold the master lease for dental offices in Walmart stores in the United States. Our mission is to bring dental care and the treatment of OSA to underserved communities.
Favorite Success Stories:
- • My wife is a mouth breather and therefore needed to use a full face mask CPAP which resulted in non-compliance. OAT has been a great success.
Tips for Treating Patients:
- • As Dentists, we are acustomed to “successful” delivery of care. Restorations, crowns, bridges, root canals etc. which last 30 to 40 years is “normal” for us. As we enter the world of medicine, it takes getting some acclimation to accept the concept of “best possible medical outcome” meaning that what we do may not work. There are some 95 different sleep disorders, with OSA being only one of them. In the medical world there is no shame in referring the patient back to their primary care physician with the request that we look for another method of treatment for a given patient.
- • What I have learned in my many years of experience is that patients make decisions as a result of the interplay between their head and their heart – between the logic and rationality of what they perceive is best, and the emotional intensity of how they feel about the treatment and its effect on them. Between the two, I have discovered that how a patient feels is often the more powerful factor in decision making. Therefore, I focus on the emotional value of how OSA is affecting their lives and the benefits of therapy to address those concerns, rather than the logical considerations of “it’s the right thing to do”.
So I have a target, a place where I want to land with the patient. It is the place where the patient says, “Oh my goodness, I can now see how my sleep apnea is negatively affecting my quality of life and jeopardizing my medical wellbeing”.
Dr. Robert J. Houchin DDS
Featured Course
Appliance Design & Selection
With Dr. Rob Veis DDS
Selecting the right appliance for each patient is the goal. In this lesson, Dr. Rob Veis engages the nuance of how to choose the device that will cater to your patient’s biology, comfort, and successful treatment. You will become familiar with many tricks of the trade.
Featured Webinar
Can Orthodontics Cause/Cure OSA and Airway Related Breathing Disorders?
Presented by Dr. William M. Hang DDS, MSD
During this webinar Dr. Hang will share orthodontic techniques that protect and, in many cases, enlarge the airway (which can eliminate snoring and OSA). He will also describe common orthodontic techniques which often decrease the airway and should be avoided.
What you will learn:
• What is non-retractive orthodontics and how can it have a positive impact on patient well-being & sleep?
• How airway health affects craniofacial pain and what to do about it.
• Why you can’t expand your way out of an anterior/posterior problem.
• How understanding non-retractive orthodontic techniques benefits the general/restorative/sleep dental practice.
Bring Your Questions!
Wednesday, December 5th
at 5 PM PST/ 8 PM EST.
Sleep Disorders – The Connection Between Sleep and Mental Health
“”Many people experience problems sleeping including not getting enough sleep, not feeling rested and not sleeping well.””
“One of the major sleep disorders that people face is insomnia. Insomnia is an inability to get the amount of sleep needed to function efficiently during the daytime. Over one-third of Americans report difficulty sleeping. Insomnia is caused by difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep or waking up too early in the morning.
More than one-half of insomnia cases are related to depression, anxiety or psychological stress. Often the qualities of a person’s insomnia and their other symptoms can be helpful in determining the role of mental illness in a person’s inability to sleep. Early morning wakefulness can be a sign of depression, along with low energy, inability to concentrate, sadness and a change in appetite or weight.
The first-line treatment for insomnia is good sleeping habits and taking care of any underlying conditions that may be causing the problems with sleeping. But when these are not enough, other treatment options can be considered.”