Ortho Tribune U.S. Edition No.2, 2016

industry Ortho Tribune U.S. Edition | AAO REVIEW 2016 8 Screening for a new revenue source in your own practice By Dr. Chris Farrell, BDS, CEO and founder of Myofunctional Research Co. (MRC) M ost dental profes- sionals, by now, should be well aware of the rapid changes altering the dental playing field. Themarket-drivenchanges,suchascorpo- ratization of the industry and oversupply of new dental graduates, have been well highlighted in professional publications, and despite an increase in the frequency of dental caries, particularly in young children, after decades of decreasing in- cidence, the dental profession, unlike its medical counterpart, relies on the ability to treat just a handful of diseases. It could be argued that if tooth decay had not been present for the past century, neither would the dental profession. In fact, the primary training of 21st-century dental students is largely centered on the detection, long-term health effects and treatment of caries. However, as a result of a focus on pro- moting greater public awareness and pre- vention rather than treatment, this source of income has been all but eliminated, and maintaining a healthy dentition for their entire lifetime has been a goal of the baby boomer generation, making implants and high-tech restorations, as well as regular check-ups, the norm. While there is the occasional perio pa- tient who commands added attention, and if we start to step on the toes of our orthodontic specialist colleagues, it is easy enough to find teeth that can be straight- ened to an arbitrary alignment using rap- id or conventional braces, modern dental practitioners are at risk of becoming rou- tine providers of the “$99 all-you-can-eat check, X-ray, scale and clean.” In previous articles, I wrote about the opportunities to widen our income base beyond the traditional that this chang- ing dental landscape offers and explained how these opportunities are available now. Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) and the serious effect it can have on a patient’s health and well-being has recently gained attention and emerged as a new GP special interest. Because it is recognized as be- ing a result of the same upper airway and neuromuscular dysfunction causing mal- occlusion, for dental practitioners willing to grasp new opportunities, the ability to treat SDB and TMJ disorder represents a new revenue source as well as alleviation from the monotony of “drill, fill and bill.” The first step toward tapping into this new revenue source is to realize that each day more business walks out of your prac- tice than is actually treated there. Virtu- ally all growing children have a develop- ing malocclusion and early treatment or, where possible, prevention is sought af- ter by parents. Additionally, 35 percent of adults experience chronic pain as a result of TMJ disorder and treatment is rarely offered. Furthermore, there is a high in- cidence of SDB among both children and adults, which is 80 percent undiagnosed. The potential increase in practice capacity is significant if these patients could be rec- ognized and offered treatment. Therefore, the second step is develop- ing the knowledge and ability to screen for these issues, which can be as simple as asking some questions. This can be achieved by setting aside one day each week to focus on consultations to identi- fy these issues, which other dental practi- tioners have never evaluated. For kids: Myofunctional orthodontic evaluation (MOE), 5-15 years Malocclusion is evident in children from the time the primary dentition is present and onto the mixed dentition. Rather than genetics, the causes of the malocclusion are incorrect growth and development. The MOE identifies the causative factors of malocclusion, which, as is the case with mouth breathing, can lead to chronic health issues later in life. Therefore, it is the duty of care of the dental profession to at least identify these developmental issues in children and offer treatment options to their parents when available. Even in a practice that predomi- nantly treats adult patients, if those adults are parents, they will naturally take an interest in any health issues concerning their children. For adults: TMJ disorder screening procedure Very few dental practitioners offer treat- Sleep Disordered Breathing among both children and adults is 80 percent undiagnosed, according to Myofunctional Research Company (MRC). Photos/Provided by MRC ” See MRC, page 10 Myofunctional Orthodontic Evaluation (MOE) identifies the causative factors of malocclusion.

Ortho Tribune U.S. Edition No.2, 2016

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