Finding a Better Way: Treating Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders in the Dental Practice

Helping Others

My focus on dental sleep is rooted in one thing: helping others improve their overall health and prevent tragedy in their lives by understanding the importance of sleep. In the early years of life I saw my fair share of adversity, hurt and pain, including the unexpected loss of loved ones that could have been prevented. That is why I am passionately committed to helping people tackle sleep­-related breathing disorders and the negative effects they have on the rest of the body. That journey began with my own diagnosis.

When The Problem Hits Close to Home

I once thought that it was normal to wake up every hour from 11pm until 6am checking my email, answering messages, etc. until someone alerted me that this irregular sleep pattern might be a red flag. I agreed to seek help, and a very close friend who I worked with in the dental industry for many years suggested I see a dentist. So I did. The dentist directed me to an ENT to follow a standard protocol, and that’s where I began what seemed to be a never-ending quest.

The ENT ran me through a few tests that were “inconclusive” and suggested that I needed to be evaluated by a sleep lab. So I did, and when I was completely wired up and ready to go the polysomnogram technician said to me “Now look, I need you to sleep on your back, and then I will bring in the CPAP.” Confused, I looked at him and said “I don’t sleep on my back. I sleep on my side or stomach.” His response, “ No. YOU don’t understand. This is insurance-driven and I need you to sleep on your back.” I sat there staring at the wall thinking to myself how I must be just a number for this guy and he didn’t care about me at all. I eventually became furious and truly concerned knowing my life and many others were in jeopardy of not getting proper treatment for this epidemic.

So, I slept on my back as naturally as possible and was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. I went back to my friend and tried another dentist to see if we could find another way to treat my problem. He fabricated a very rudimentary “snore guard”. It fractured several times within months, and I knew there must be a better way.

If you know anything about my passion to help people, you know I will not stop until I’ve found the most current technology and clinical knowledge to solve a problem. I found the problem was not just the system of screening and treatment, but also that most dentists today don’t have the right education or bandwidth to treat sleep-related breathing disorders effectively. They have a huge opportunity, and in my mind, a responsibility to help mankind.

Years of clinical experience immediately stirred up a gut feeling synonymous with who I am. That feeling is, “I must do something to help my fellow humans!” I only know one way to do that. Attack the problem head on and create the change. So I began the process of finding out why patients were falling through the cracks. One reason a dental sleep medicine practice is unsuccessful is problems with successful billing. Other offices are not effectively marketing. The more I looked, the more I saw red flags as to why a dental sleep medicine practice would be successful. As we began working with dentists, we have been able to turn the corner and impact their practices with positive results.

A Better Way

We formed N3Sleep earlier this year and have already seen phenomenal success helping dentists realize their goals in treating sleep-related breathing disorders, while mitigating many of problems we’ve seen in diagnosing and treating these disorders in the past. Our philosophy is to incorporate the best strategies, clinicians,and corporate partners available to help you and your practice implement the four pillars of dental sleep medicine: 1) screen, 2) diagnose (is this right?), 3) treat and 4) bill. The four pillars are the cornerstone of this business and I owe our focus on them to DS3, who truly has made a difference for us. Our team has taken a strong position on treating sleep­-related breathing disorders, and between our work with the military, the United States Congress, major sports leagues, transportation (airline pilots, trucking companies, motor coach associations) and many other industries, we are making a difference. Our years of experience in the dental and medical industry set us apart from other groups. We are now endorsed by the AACSM and ACSDD among others.

Last week I met with members of Congress and made my intentions are clear: we need to have credentialed dentists working with credentialed physicians so we can put patients on the road to better health and wellness who have sleep-related breathing disorders.

Today, we are moving forward to match patients, dentist and physicians to improve lives. We can help you treat more patients. The integrity of our team will help you succeed. Our team includes Dr. Roy Novick DDS, Dr. Anthony Horalek DDS, Dr. Michael Krahe PHD and Dr. Lee Surkin MD, FACC, FCCP, FASNC and Steve Rhodes,to name a few. We are standing united at the forefront of an epidemic, and together we all can make a difference. We and our partners continue to learn, innovate and develop a multi-disciplinary model of treatment as a standard across the industry. Your practice and your patients need you to do this.

In addition to our extensive dentist training program we are launching a patient information portal. DreamSleep.rest will be live later this month, and our goal is to make it a household name in the near future. We have an aggressive promotion plan including television, radio, internet, and magazines to drive awareness of this hidden epidemic. If we are to truly help people, we must disrupt the zombie-mindset of our present model of treating sleep-related breathing disorders as “normal”, just like I did years ago. Diagnosing and treating my severe sleep apnea has changed my life. Patients also need to know that help is available from a dentist near them.

We truly want to help people sleep better and live happier, healthier lives. Join us if you feel the same way. It starts now. Thank you for the opportunity to share my story and our team vision. Taking action is the next step. Our team would like to hear from you, let’s win together.

Brett Brocki is CEO of N3Sleep, a national sleep consulting and training firm. If you need help getting your whole team on board screening for OSA, contact N3Sleep for in-office training for your entire staff.

Originally published in Dental Sleep Insider Magazine, August 2016