Overcome Dental Sleep Medicine Obstacles

Jodi Jacks, Member Development Specialist at DS3

Setting goals is a part of life. Obstacles on the path are a part of life, too.  Let’s just face it. It’s how we choose to view and deal with these obstacles that will determine how and if we overcome them.  When a dental practice makes a commitment to add Dental Sleep Medicine (DSM) to its list of services it’s important to understand that will obstacles might surface, and there are ways to move past them.  There is no obstacle large enough that it should prevent any dental practice from offering this life saving treatment. Control what you can control and minimize barriers. There will likely be enough of them with insurance or difficult patients.

Here are a few tips to help prepare a team in advance of encountering DSM-related obstacles.

1. Education: Do this together as a team. It is essential to provide everyone with a foundation on which they can grow together. Understanding the clinical aspects of DSM is just as important as understanding all the processes involved with a successful DSM practice.  Before the team starts talking about Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) with patients, an education plan needs to be established.. This education can be done remotely or live in person. Or both. It just needs to be done TOGETHER.
2. Coaching: Ongoing coaching and support for the dental sleep team is vital to success. If the dentist is solely responsible for DSM in the practice, it will create a road block. DSM is largely team-driven. It takes a village. Be sure to team up with an organization that provides continual, ongoing coaching to help with everything from clinical aspects of DSM to case presentation and medical billing.
3. Software: DSM has a lot of moving parts. Using a software developed especially for DSM in a dental practice will allow streamlining of all the processes and allow the team to stay organized so nothing falls through the cracks.  From screening tools to electronic medical billing, make sure the software is cloud-based, simple and easy for the team to use.
4. Support: This includes utilizing a 3^rd party medical biller to manage the medical billing process. Let the experts handle the medical billing. The nominal fees most charge are worth your team’s sanity and time.  Who better to help overcome DSM medical billing obstacles than an experienced medical biller who specializes in billing for DSM for dental practices?

To get started on the right path, contact me at 877.95.SNORE x2.  Our industry experts are available to provide all the education, coaching, software, and support to dental practices committed to making DSM a priority.