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Dental Tribune U.S. Edition

HYGIENE TRIBUNE The World’s Dental Hygiene Newspaper · U.S. Edition Snoring and sleep apnea: Are they a nuisance or disease continuum? The ‘Pros in the Profession’ winners The hygienist and dental team play a huge role in screening and identifying patients at risk July 2011 www.dental-tribune.com Vol. 4, No. 7 Two-thirds of partnered adults say their other half snores, while six out of 10 of all adults (59 percent) say they snore. Sleep apnea may be present in 20 to 40 percent of the adult population that experience snoring. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 45 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, a disorder that causes a person to briefly, and repeatedly, stop breathing during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a debili- tating and often life-threatening sleep dis- order and an estimated 800,000 patients are being diagnosed with OSA per year in the United States while approximately only 10 percent are being treated. Primary care practices are not actively screening patients for OSA, which leaves a large void in the number of patients being identified with this killer disease. OSA has directly been linked through numerous research papers to co-morbidities such as stroke, heart disease, hypertension, impo- tence and diabetes. For those patients who have been diag- nosed and have had continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) recommended, some may be intolerant of the therapy and are cur- rently going untreated There are millions of patients who need treatment, including those who cannot tolerate their CPAP machines and are looking for alternatives. The dental practice is a prime portal to not only screen and identify patients at risk, but also to offer clinically proven therapy with oral appliances. How to implement oral appliance therapy It starts with education for the dentist and the dental team. Currently there are many continuing education courses available on the topic of dental sleep medicine and oral appliance therapy, and these are usually two- to three-day courses with subsequent workshops and follow up that is essential. I must emphasize, in order to be successful with implementation, the entire team needs to be involved — dentist, hygienist, assistants and front desk staff. Following the education, the implementa- tion process begins, which involves asking questions, observing, communicating, initiat- By Ashley Truitt, RDA, BBA g HT page 2D The 2010–2011 Pros in the Profes- sion award program has come to a successful conclusion with Crest Oral-B recognizing five deserving dental hygienists who go beyond the call of duty. These five outstand- ing professionals were nominated by their peers and selected from an overwhelming pool of qualified can- didates for truly making an impact on their patients. Ann Benson was selected for fol- lowing her dream to start Mobile Dentistry of Arizona, a practice that brings comprehensive dental care to those with limited transportation. Mobile Dentistry of Arizona offers on-site dental care to the residents and staff members of assisted living homes, skilled nursing, long-term care communities and other age- qualified communities. Trudy Meinberg has distinguished herself for more than 30 years as a registered dental hygienist in both private and collegiate practice set- tings. In addition to teaching clini- cal periodontics to undergraduate dental students at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) College of Dentistry, she has also contributed to several research stud- ies and has been published in a number of scholarly journals. Mary Lynne Murray-Rider has improved the lives of others both inside and outside the office. In addi- tion to her 31 years of experience as a registered dental hygienist, Mur- ray-Rider has served as an ADHA Delegate, the Maine Dental Hygien- ists Association (MDHA) president and on several MDHA councils and is currently serving as immediate past president and continuing edu- cation council liaison. Linda Maciel has established a screening protocol to detect early signs of oral cancer and has caught basal-cell carcinoma and detected early signs of thyroid cancer through- out her 11 years of practice. Maciel also volunteers with her office at community events and works to pro- mote having a healthy mouth by dis- cussing the links between periodon- tal health and systemic concerns. Sharon Shull is an advocate for both education and community ser- vice. She is dedicated to increas- ing care for segments of society that are unable to receive basic oral health-care services and encourages dental hygiene students to have a greater awareness of the true oral health needs of society. Shull is the community health coordinator and program director for both the bach- elor of science in dental hygiene online degree completion program and study abroad at Old Dominion University School of Dental Hygiene. Crest Oral-B is honoring these five Pros in the Profession winners with a VIP, all-expense-paid trip to the American Dental Hygienists’ Association’s 88th Annual Session in Nashville, Tenn., where they will be presented with awards to celebrate their achievements. For more information about the Pros in the Profession award program, please visit facebook.com/ professionalcrestoralb. HT 1: Ann Benson 2: Trudy Meinberg 3: Linda Maciel 4: Sharon Stull 5: Mary Lynne Murray (Photos/Provided by P&G) 1 2 3 4 5 (Photo/ProvidedbyAshleyTruitt)