The Role Of Clear Aligners In The Management Of Airway Dysfunction Using Combination
Sleep Appliance Therapy
A Featured Lecture By Rob Veis, DDS
Dentistry is experiencing two parallel and related growth trends: clear aligner treatment and the care for sleep-disordered breathing. In 2021, over 650,000 patients in North America sought clear aligner treatment as a result of a steady 28% year-over-year growth. Moreover, approximately 3.5 million sleep tests were performed in the U.S. this past year, with nearly 13% growth annually. Given the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), it is not surprising that dental practitioners see many patients who show signs of OSA that need treatment and may also require or desire minor tooth crowding correction.
A variety of sleep appliances have been available to treat OSA, but the question is “How do we treat patients for OSA while addressing their chief complaints — to fix their smile”? Traditional sleep appliances cannot be used in conjunction with clear aligners. Now, there is a solution: FDA-cleared custom devices specifically designed to combine these two therapies.
Malocclusion can compromise the space within the nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal regions. This correlation between malocclusion and obstructive sleep apnea has been established in the refereed literature. Compromised airways can present as snoring, Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome, or Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Utilizing CBCT technology allows better identification of midfacial developmental deficiencies that may be contributing to airway compromise demonstrating that the mandible alone is not the only region of concern. Given these complexities, choosing the right service partners for both clear aligners and dental sleep appliances is important if these treatments are to be combined. On the dental sleep side, proper diagnosis of the patient’s sleep disorder as well as a comprehensive treatment plan that identifies the orthodontic considerations and type of appliances that may address the patient’s airway is critical.
The purpose and objectives of this lecture are to present the complexities and the solutions associated with combining clear aligner therapy with FDA cleared custom dental sleep devices.
Sleep Education Consortium
April 28 – 30, 2022
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Houston - Greenway Plaza
The Sleep Education Consortium – the premier, 3-day, educational experience focusing on the growing link between dentistry and sleep medicine.
- Combination Therapy with Appliance, CPAP and more
- New frontiers in orthognathic surgery
- Early intervention orthodontics
- Clear Aligner Therapy for airway management
- Proper Impressions and Bite Registration Techniques
- Integrating 3D Technology
- Remote Patient Monitoring to enhance patient management
This Consortium includes lectures, hands-on experience,
Q&A and panel discussions.