Help keep your patients out of the shed

I’ve been watching this TV show.

Sleep and dental sleep medicine were topics that weren’t covered when I went to dental school.

And, with no evidence whatsoever, I would suggest that they’re not covered very much now, either.

Apparently, the average doctor gets about four hours training in sleep medicine during their undergraduate degree.

None of this is very helpful for our patients or the population as a whole. Not when it is estimated that 20% of the Australian population suffer from some sort of undiagnosed sleep disorder, of which there are more than 80.

I’ve been assessing patients for sleep issues for more than ten years now and providing sleep appliances on referral from the local ENT GPs and sleep physicians.

Patients are often desperate for treatment of their snoring or sleep apnoea. One fellow was already in the spare room and the next move was going to be to the shed; no kidding. Poor sleep harms relationships as well as impacting health.

Dental sleep medicine is a very satisfying part of my practice. Often, it’s the families that are as happy with successful treatment, if not happier than the patients themselves. Patients can also go on trips with their friends without embarrasment if they have a sleep appliance.

Moving upstream, identifying kids at risk of sleep issues, and recommending appropriate referrals, is essential if we are to get on top of this growing problem. Appropriate treatment can help with learning and behavioural problems at school and set the child up for good health as an adult.

It doesn’t take long to ask a few questions during a checkup to screen your patients and educate them about the implications of poor sleep.

A tonsillectomy on a five year old or indeed a 50 year old can be equally transformative as the jaw surgery and treatment Tyler Wright received.

Here’s some links to some sleep questionnaires and other resources.

This is a sample child questionaire.

Find a course to better educate yourself, even if you have no desire to make appliances. Or join as an associate member of the Australasian Sleep Association

We see our patients much more regularly than they may see their GP, so we have a great opportunity to screen for these issues.

Have a great week

Rosie