Sleep physicians have more options than they may realize for helping patients access oral appliance therapy.
By Alyx Arnett
This article examines how sleep physicians can help patients access oral appliance therapy for obstructive sleep apnea despite a shortage of trained dental sleep medicine providers in many areas. It outlines four practical strategies: referring patients to virtual/telemedicine programs like BlueSleep and Daybreak, which handle scanning, fabrication, and follow-up remotely; having ENTs provide oral appliance therapy in-house, since it falls within their scope of practice; encouraging local dentists to pursue AADSM training to expand the provider pool; and using online directories from organizations like AADSM, ABDSM, and manufacturers to locate qualified dentists, including those farther away. Together, these approaches aim to close significant access gaps in sleep apnea treatment nationwide.
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