• Take charge of your income, knowing the treatments with the knowledge of medical billing. Dental plans do not cover procedures for Sleep Apnea or TMD.
  Since Sleep Apnea came into play with the American Academy of Sleep more and more oral physicians, have taken courses and become providers of durable medical equipment. They are directly involved in medical billing with a significant portion being Medicare.

. In 2012 guidelines on the diagnosis and management of uncomplicated childhood OSA associated with adenotonsillar hypertrophy and or obesity in another wise healthy child should be screened for snoring and PSG will be performed in children with snoring and symptoms/signs of OSA as listed in their guidelines.

In to 2014 American College of Physicians recommends that they should target their assessment of OSA suspected have a sleep monitor test when available to honestly know which treatment the dentists should be engaged in with that child. Either or both OSA or TMD American academy of craniofacial pain task force on mandibular advancement oral appliance therapy for snoring and OSA published a position paper in 2013 that states Oral appliance therapy has potential to cause TMD and that dentists should be engaged in the treatment of both OSA AND TMD.

A significant portion of children is covered with Expanders and appliances, which are not billed to dental but billing is to medical.
Now for the last three to four years more and more children with attention deficit or manic moods, difficulty behavior and currently being tested for sleep apnea. What does that mean to the oral physician, and how can he help the many children misdiagnosed given medications that will not help, and guide their parents to the answers that could help save their child their health and the type of childhood they will have if dealing with untreated airway issues.
There are steps that you can add to your office to begin the journey of adding the ability to diagnosis a child for either treatment of sleep apnea or TMD. Of course, you must determine the therapy after the test results are available and collaborate with your patients’ medical provider.
Steps to Success:Visit www.dentalmedicalbilling.com and apply for our monthly coaching and web programs.