Getting The Word Out – Marketing

Without a viable targeted marketing message in place and in action, no one will ever know about your newly expanded services. Marketing impacts every aspect of your success in dental sleep medicine and your overall practice, as well.

Remember… there is a very high probability that sleep patients already exist in your current practice.

Marketing and educational materials that introduce these patients to the risks and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea are in essence creating new patients for your practice. Your new/existing converts to sleep therapy will, in turn, refer your sleep services to those within their influence range. Finally, those referrals will bring with them a full range of general dentistry needs to “feed” your general practice.

SML will work one-on-one with you to help integrate Dental Sleep Medicine into your marketing plan and brand platform by including the following services:

We decorate our rooms, our desks at work, our cars, and even our own skin. Each one of us is an individual and we love to express our individualism any chance we get, even in our mouths! That’s why custom appliance designs can be such a huge hit at your dental practice. No one loves the thought of wearing a retainer for the next few months or even years, but the process can be a lot more enjoyable if your patients can pick from a wide variety of colors and designs.

At Space Maintainers Laboratories, we offer some really cool appliance colors and designs that will let your patients’ personalities shine. Maybe your feel-good patients will choose the smiley face or rainbow designs. Teenage boys might prefer the pirate or flame options, while girls may love the crystal violet color or the unique ladybug design.

Getting Paid – The Medical Model

If you, and/or the members of your dental group intend to receive payment through some method other than direct fee-for-service, it is important to understand when it comes to Sleep Medicine, you and your dental group are treating a medical problem and must bill according to established medical protocols.

Because most dental practice management software applications do not handle medical billing properly, SML® has established preferred partnerships that supply turnkey eligibility verification, billing and medical reimbursement to insure timely submission and payment of medical claims. We have done this because we believe that unless it is your intention to convert your practice to one that only provides sleep therapy you will need help integrating medical billing into your practice.

We live in the digital age, and even if your dental office has been analogue for years, it’s past time to make the switch to digital. You already know that converting your analogue x-rays and files make it much easier and swifter for your administrative assistants and dental techs to pull patient files. Digital also allows you to efficiently review changes in patients…and to transfer and receive files to and from other sources.

The only potential “glitch” resulting from digitizing your files occurs in the area of labor commitment. Digitizing can prove time-consuming and does effectively take employees assigned to the task out of circulation. 
We know that you want to keep your costs down. We know you may not be able to afford the cost of staff commitment or temp acquisition. 

Consider using SML Digital. We can help you make the transition from analog to digital. Visit www.SMLglobal.com or call 800-423-3270 to learn more about SML Digital. 

Category 6: After-Wear Repositioners

After wearing a mandibular advancement sleep appliance overnight, patients frequently find it difficult to bite back into their normal occlusion. This bite shift rarely returns to its normal position without some assistance. To help re-establish a normal bite we recommend the use of a repositioning device. This device is typically constructed to replicate the patient’s normal occlusal pattern and mandibular position and should be used every morning after wearing an advancement appliance.

THE GOOD MORNING POSITIONER
Constructed from a unique EVA (FDA - cleared) material, the Good Morning Positioner, when heated, can be molded by the clinician onto the upper and lower teeth to capture their existing occlusal relationship. This should be done prior to delivering the sleep appliance. When worn every morning for 5-10 minutes, it can reduce the risk of a permanent bite change.

Category 5: “With CPAP” Appliances

THE CPAP PRO®

The original lab made CPAP PRO uses a custom maxillary splint to hold a nasal mask made of Lite-touch Silicone Nasal Pillows directly under the nose. These Micro-porous foam diffusers seal the dual exhalation ports to eliminate forced air arousal and skin irritation. Another benefit of this design is that it eliminates the need for straps to hold the mask in place. This prevents any pressure marks on the face, something female patients particularly appreciate. 

When paired with a custom advancement appliance like the Adjustable Dorsal or Adjustable Herbst Appliance, it may be possible to lower the forced air pressures and/or minimize the advancement needed to be effective.

Do you have a patient who has recently lost one of their posterior teeth? A molar? A bicuspid? Whatever the reason may be that caused the lost of the tooth, they may not be able to afford replacing it right away. They may also feel it is not necessary to replace it since the gap isn’t noticeable to anyone.  As you know they are wrong!

It is imperative we tell them the risk factors in not replacing it. As you know leaving a space in a patient’s mouth can change their bite and lead to a host of other problems. Here is a list of just a few of the most common side effects. Malocclusion, poor chewing, clenching, grinding, and jaw pain are just some of the common problems that can occur. But a collapsed bite caused by tooth loss can even lead to airway issues.

Category 4: Dual Action Appliances

It is fair to say patients who have crowded teeth and small or narrow arches will also have a greater chance of having an airway issue. This is the case because patients who have these problems have less intraoral volume for the tongue and a diminished nasal airway. Although these patients may benefit from a standard sleep appliance alone, it has become clear that combination therapy that also addresses their orthodontic needs may be a better approach.

THE ALIGNER SLEEP APPLIANCE (ASA)™
The ASA is an appliance that can be worn to manage a patient’s apnea while they are undergoing aligner therapy to correct their malocclusion. To be successful at providing this combined approach it is necessary to coordinate the treatment plans between the clear aligner therapy and the Aligner Sleep Appliance.  

Therefore we have developed a system that will provide the necessary diagnostic services for successful combined ASA/aligner therapy. This system’s features include:  

Category 3: Tongue Controllers, Combo Tongue Controllers and Advancement Appliances

Some patients simply cannot tolerate having their mandible brought forward. For others, such as a patient who already is a skeletal class lll, they would only be made more prognathic. Luckily there are alternatives to these posture forwarding appliances.

The following appliances work by acting directly on the tongue to prevent it from dropping back into the airway:

THE FULL BREATH SOLUTION®
The FBS has an adjustable extension that reaches back and down towards the posterior aspect of the tongue. It is designed in such a manner that when the tongue drops back into the airway during sleep it makes contact with this extension. This contact stimulates the tongue to come forward while eliminating any potential mandible pain or TMJ problems. This appliance has enjoyed phenomenal success – attaining a 72% drop in the Apnea Hypopnea Index (measuring the number of times per hour the tongue blocks the airway for at least 10 seconds).

THE FULL BREATH O2 ™
For ensuring the maximum results and benefits from the Full Breath Solution, the Full Breath O2 appliance features tubes within the acrylic for the delivery of low levels of oxygen. This is a unique approach only available by using this patented design.

Participation in competitive sports at all levels, from youth to adult leagues has grown quite steadily over recent years.  With this growth, we have seen a commensurate increase in the number of injuries.  In fact, 10-20% of all sports related injuries are maxillofacial injuries according to the American Dental Association.  To protect your patient’s mouth we suggest everyone involved in playing competitive sports wear a mouthguard.

It is easy to assume mouthguards are only necessary if you are playing a contact sport. People understand if you are playing soccer, basketball, football, or ice hockey you need a mouthguard. But it is just as important to wear a mouthguard when you are participating in non-contact sports, like skateboarding, mountain biking, and gymnastics.