In News and Analysis Harold A. Smith, DDS, president of the AADSM 

Not all dental sleep medicine education is created equal – 4 common pitfalls

As the number of adults diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea continues to increase, dentists have the opportunity to integrate dental sleep medicine into their skill set to help treat this serious disease as well as grow their practices. Continuing education (CE) courses provide the knowledge needed to expand into dental sleep medicine, but dentists should be wary that not all courses are created equal. Some educational offerings provide inadequate instruction and may teach outdated methods or non-validated protocols. 

Here are four indicators of inferior education in dental sleep medicine that dentists should avoid when selecting CE courses:

1. Overgeneralized instruction – Courses that attempt to be all things to all people, and are not designed to meet the different levels of dental sleep medicine experience and knowledge, most likely will not meet your professional needs. Beware of courses that are overgeneralized to draw as many attendees as possible.

2. Integrated teaching and testing entities – Education providers should administer certification testing and education from separate boards to ensure that dentists’ education is the main focus of the organization. Distinction between these goals is expected and necessary in prestigious medical education programs, and the same standards should apply to dental sleep medicine courses.

3. For-profit organizations – Any organization that stands to profit from teaching participants to use particular devices or services cannot provide impartial instruction. While these courses can help you learn about tools of the trade, they are not a substitute for gaining fundamental, unbiased knowledge about dental sleep medicine.

4. Access to test questions – Courses that provide advance access to questions that will appear on an upcoming certification exam do not support the competency in dental sleep medicine that our medical colleagues will respect and expect.

For reputable CE courses, the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) is the “best in class” option, as the only non-profit national professional society dedicated exclusively to the practice of dental sleep medicine. The AADSM offers a recognized, tailored educational approach. Its courses comprise instruction and insights on best practices taught by instructors who are leaders with substantial experience in the clinical practice of dental sleep medicine. Additionally, all AADSM courses are ADA CERP recognized and fulfill the continuing education requirements for dentists to maintain their licensure.

For more information about AADSM CE courses and upcoming opportunities, visit www.aadsm.org.

About Dr. Smith:

Harold A. Smith, DDS, is the president of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM). He has provided oral appliance therapy since 1993 and is currently the clinical director of Dental Sleep Medicine of Indiana. He also serves as the dental consultant to the major Indianapolis hospital sleep disorder centers and is on faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine’s Fellowship program in sleep medicine.

As a distinguished speaker and ABDSM Diplomate, Dr. Smith has lectured nationally on the dentist’s role as part of a medical team in sleep medicine. He also has served on many levels of organized dentistry throughout the years. Dr. Smith is a Fellow of the American College of Dentists and is an active member of the AASM, ADA, IDA, IDDS and AGD. He is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Dentistry.

An active and passionate dental sleep medicine professional, Dr. Smith served as president of the AADSM from 2002 to 2004, received the AADSM Distinguished Service Award in 2006 and acted as president of the ABDSM from 2008-2010.

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