TYPICAL PATIENT EXPERIENCE
Initial Appointment
Whether you have had an overnight sleep test or not, and whether or not you have seen anyone else in this field, the process for management of your problem begins with a call to our receptionist for an evaluation appointment.
503-255-1200
You will be given an appointment for 90 minutes and mailed a packet of forms to be filled out and returned prior to that visit. This intake information is critical for the proper development of your treatment plan. A claim for reimbursement for this initial visit will be submitted as a courtesy to your medical insurance carrier. Please discuss this process with the receptionist when you call for an appointment.
Informed Consent
You will meet with your SMN affiliate dentist for a complete discussion of your sleep disorder(s) from both medical and dental perspectives. Any previous sleep studies will be reviewed with you to assure that you have a thorough understanding of sleep disordered breathing in general and your status in particular. All treatment options for you will be explained and any necessary consultations planned.
You may be referred for an overnight sleep test if you have not had an adequate recent diagnosis.
You will meet with our medical insurance specialist, whose expertise in medical insurance claims will assure that you will have a verification of benefits, a pre-authorization of the claims associated with this therapy and that you will understand precisely what financial responsibilities, if any, you may have in the completion of your treatment. A financial agreement will be prepared for your signature, so that all aspects of the management of your case will be understood and approved by you.
Appointment 2
If you wish to continue and pursue therapy, a work up appointment will be made for you. It is about 1 hour in duration and will include: an oral examination, TMJ work up and documentation, radiographs if your dentist of record does not have adequate films, dental impressions, and the preparation of dental casts of your upper and lower teeth and jaws. A home monitoring device will be dispensed to you to take home and measure the cardio-pulmonary parameters of your sleep in your own bed. It is a simple device, but will give us invaluable information as a baseline for assuring proper outcome as the therapy progresses.
All necessary consultations will be assembled and considered, and your dentist of record will be involved in your long-term management.
Appointment 3
Approximately two weeks later, the custom appliance will be fitted comfortably on your teeth, and the appropriate method of accommodation and use will be taught. The protocol for advancing your jaw to the best treatment position over a period of 1-3 weeks will be described to you and you will be prepared properly for that process. Consultation by phone or appointments during the accommodation phase will be available to you.
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A home monitor will be dispensed for you to use when we agree that the optimum treatment position of your jaw has been achieved. We also highly recommend that you be seen in our office annually to use this screening device to assure that the appliance is working optimally. You will also be given a series of follow up visits to make sure that your jaws, muscles, and bite are unaffected by this therapy, and patients need to make a commitment to biannual visits with their dentist of record and with your SMN affiliate dentist to assure that if any side-effects are detected, they are identified and managed early.
