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Are you using positional therapy to enhance your patients' sleep quality?

This edition we look at how simple changes like using a head-positioning pillow can help treatment outcomes for Snorer/OSA sufferers.

Plus, we cover a game-changing tool that could redefine patient relationship management in your practice.

In Today’s Edition:

• Are Positioning Pillows an Effective DSM Tool?

• Transform Your Dental Practice with a CRM

• Industry Events

• [Video] Best Sleeping Positions

5-minute read👇

Clinical Corner

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Key Takeaways🔑

Are Positioning Pillows an Effective DSM Tool?

Positional therapy, often overlooked in the arsenal against obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), might hold promise, particularly for patients with a milder form of the condition who experience symptom in the supine position. Recent findings suggest that simple interventions, like a head-positioning pillow (HPP), could significantly reduce snoring in such cases, warranting a closer look.

Positional Therapy: A Targeted Approach

OSA manifests more severely in some positions than others. For those with positional OSA—where symptoms worsen when lying on the back—adjusting sleeping posture might be a simple yet effective strategy. Enter positional therapy: the use of devices like HPP to encourage side sleeping, potentially easing symptoms with minimal intrusion.

Another study suggested that positional therapy was not as effective as CPAP, however, it showed to lower AHI (-1.58/AHI) compared to not attempting any therapy.

Study Overview and Key Results

A study involving 25 adults with mild-to-moderate positional OSA investigated the effectiveness of an HPP in reducing snoring. Over three nights, these individuals used their regular pillows and then switched to an HPP. The results were telling:

• A decrease in median snoring severity from 5.0 to 4.0.

• A reduction in the median number of snoring events per hour from 218.0 to 115.0.

These changes were more pronounced in normal-weight patients compared to their overweight counterparts, indicating that body mass index (BMI) plays a role in the efficacy of positional therapy.

Practical Implications for Dental Sleep Professionals

The implications of these findings are interesting for the day-to-day DSM practice:

1. Assessment of Patient Suitability: Before recommending positional therapy, evaluate if a patient's OSA symptoms are position-dependent, and consider their BMI as a factor in the potential success of the treatment.

2. Customized Patient Education: Educate patients on the benefits of positional therapy, focusing on how simple changes in sleeping posture can alleviate their symptoms.

3. Monitoring and Follow-up: Implement regular follow-ups to adjust and fine-tune the use of positional aids like HPPs, ensuring optimal results.

Conclusion

While not a replacement for more established treatments like Oral appliances and CPAP, positional therapy using devices such as an HPP offers a complementary approach that is both low-risk and potentially high-reward for certain patients with OSA.

As this study shows, even modest reductions in snoring severity can significantly enhance sleep quality and, by extension, life quality. Dental sleep professionals are well-positioned to integrate this simple, effective strategy into their therapeutic arsenal, offering a tailored approach that considers the individual nuances of each patient's condition.

Business of Sleep

📈Better businesses = more lives saved!

Transform Your Dental Practice with a CRM

In today’s fiercely competitive dental market, staying ahead isn't just about delivering exceptional patient care—it’s also about mastering the art of patient relationship management. Here lies the potent advantage of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system—a tool that might just be your practice’s new cornerstone for growth and efficiency.

Why CRM? The Business Case for Dental Practices

Dental practices face many challenges, from increasing competition and diversifying patient needs to managing intricate payment structures. As traditional methods of patient management become outdated, embracing a CRM system isn’t just a nice-to-have, but a necessity to thrive.

Streamlined Patient Acquisition: The main benefit of a CRM system is that it helps attract new patients more efficiently. It records all interactions with potential patients, from the first contact to follow-up messages, making it easier to track and manage these relationships. This is especially important now, as the cost of getting new patients is rising, and making the most of every inquiry is essential for making a profit.

Enhanced Marketing Efficiency: By using a CRM, dental practices can find out which marketing methods work best. This approach uses data to remove guesswork, focus spending, and get the best results, making sure that marketing money is spent wisely.

Operational Excellence: CRMs handle routine tasks like sending appointment reminders and following up on treatment plans. This reduces the workload for staff, making things run more smoothly and improving the patient experience. It's good for both the practice's growth and its reputation.

Real-World Impact: The CRM Advantage in Action

Consider the case of a mid-sized dental practice struggling with patient retention and inefficient marketing. After implementing a CRM system, the practice could:

• Automate Patient Follow-ups: Ensuring that every patient received timely reminders and educational content based on their treatment plans.

• Track Marketing ROI: By tracking which marketing channels patients came from, the practice refined its marketing strategy to focus on high-return channels, doubling its patient acquisition rate.

• Enhance Patient Experience: By maintaining detailed patient records, staff could offer personalized care, significantly improving patient satisfaction and retention rates.

Choosing the Right CRM for Your Dental Practice

Selecting the right CRM is critical. The ideal CRM for a dental practice should offer:

• Ease of Use: The CRM should be intuitive and straightforward, minimizing training time and resistance from staff.

• Integration with Practice Management Systems (PMS): Seamless integration with existing PMS avoids duplication of effort and ensures a single source of truth for patient data.

• Comprehensive Analytics: A good CRM provides detailed insights into patient behaviors, campaign performance, and financial metrics to make informed business decisions.

• HIPAA Compliance: Ensure the CRM is HIPAA compliant, safeguarding patient information and ensuring compliance with regulations.

Implementation Strategies for Success

To truly benefit from a CRM, it’s not just about the setup but also about adoption and utilization:

• Staff Training: Invest in comprehensive training for all users to ensure they are comfortable and proficient in using the CRM.

• Data Migration: Migrate existing patient data accurately into the CRM to avoid any disruptions in patient care and communications.

• Regular Reviews: Regularly review the data and insights generated by the CRM to continually refine and optimize business strategies.

Looking Ahead: The Future of CRM in Dental Practices

The future of managing dental practices is tied to new CRM technologies. As AI and machine learning improve, CRMs will predict patient needs and automate interactions.

In a field where being efficient and accurate is important, CRMs help build patient loyalty, streamline operations, and promote growth. Now is the time to include CRM in your business plan for lasting success in dental care.

Previous Editions

👉 Exploring CBCT in with Sleep-Disordered Breathing

👉 Development Tools for Dental Sleep Professionals

👉 Impact of Technology on Sleep

Something Sweet

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Industry Events

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Miscellaneous

😅P.S. … I forgot something

Here are some great insights when discussing sleep positions with your patients!