Dr. Keith Thornton’s Contribution

 

There are some new Medicare rulings that are being released as I pen this blog.  It will address the fact that Medicare will pay for the oral appliances as well as home unattended sleep studies.  This is a shocking and incredibly significant ruling if this ends up to be Medicare’s final position on this matter.  The ruling will propel the dental sleep profession into the forefront of dentistry as it starts to deal with all the aspects of sleep as it relates to oral disease as a whole and the deterioration of dental apparatus through time.  I will write more on this later.  At this point, I need to pay homage to Dr. Keith Thornton, who has been on the forefront of this profession since the beginning.  He has spent his career for the last 25 years in trying to obtain this type of status for the dental sleep profession.  He has worked diligently with lawmakers, with policy makers, with Medicare, insurance companies, and other industry professionals in order to convince them of the essential role of the Dentist in treating sleep disorders.  The Dentist is well equipped to deal with every aspect of sleep disorder breathing at the base of the diagnosis up to every aspect of the care of the airway.  This is what Dentists were trained to do from the very beginning and now we have been able to bring every aspect of our profession to bear on this critical problem in society and hopefully many patients will not only have their lives saved, but also have their entire general health improved.

 

Dr. Thornton is to be commended for all his hours and years of work that he has not had any pay for, nor has he had the recognition he deserves.  He is not only the inventor of one of the best mandibular advancement appliances for sleep medicine, but also the father of Dental Sleep medicine in my mind.  So, I dedicate the future of the dental sleep profession to Dr. Keith Thornton.  Thank you Dr. Thornton for all you have done for not only the profession, but for all the patients that will have better overall health and the lives you have saved, for your lifetime efforts.  I look forward to your continued contribution to the profession as we dive into all the different aspects of sleep disorder breathing as it affects the general dental health of all our patients.

 

God Bless,

Dr. Ron Prehn

Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain

Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine