I spent the weekend in Chicago attending the Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine fall conference. Excellent talks by sleep physicians, sleep dentists, and others. The primary concern at all of these conferences tends to be the number of Americans with undiagnosed sleep apnea and those diagnosed but not treating it properly.
Of course we dentists can be most helpful in screening in our practices for sleep issues and when/where appropriate providing an alternative to CPAP treatment. Medical Oral Appliances work! The science and studies back this up. What doesn't work is a person with sleep issues that chooses to not wear or can't tolerate their CPAP and then gives up. We dentists, who spend time in appropriate continuing education, can provide an appliance that works well. And working with our sleep physician friends, we can help more people live healthier lives. Sign me up!