Course Teaching Goals

  1. Provide the attendees with the opportunity to participate in a comprehensive yearlong evidence-based course in the principles of sleep medicine.

  2. Increase awareness of the role of literature in learning and continuing education in the field of dental sleep medicine.

  3. Discuss in-depth the role of bruxism, parafunctional control, and occlusion in treatment considerations

  4. Encourage critical thinking while the attendees implement complex concepts in risk-benefit decision-making while treating patients with sleep-disturbed breathing.

  5. Teach sleep medicine and dental medicine effectively to breed confidence and allow attendees can develop non-competitive relationships with mutual respect between themselves and the physicians with whom they work.

Course Learning Objectives

  1. Comprehend and integrate extensive course material into their everyday practice of dental sleep medicine, including improved screening, referral patterns, and treatment.

  2. Recognize the dental myths that are taught as fact and replace the concepts with evidence-based concepts.

  3. Appreciate the complex concepts of the field of sleep medicine and understand that a direct relationship with a direct dose-response does not usually exist.

  4. Understand the evidenced based factors involved in risk-benefit decision-making and apply those factors in an appropriate manner.

  5. Describe the role of sleep apnea in metabolic syndrome.

  6. Analyze the multivariate factors involved in treatment decision-making and the determination of “successful” therapy.

  7. Understand how to critically read studies and other literature and determine the power of the paper as well as the weaknesses of the paper.

  8. Develop improved ability to develop positive, honest relationships with patients and physicians.

  9. Perform significantly improved clinical histories and examinations

  10. 10.Learn to prevent the majority of untoward effects of oral appliance therapy and resolve those that do occur.