Big Responsibility

 

With the new Medicare rulings that are coming down it will put a great responsibility on the General Dentist to educate themselves as to the nature of sleep disorder breathing.  It has upped to the bar for responsibility both medically and bioethically.  If the Dentist is in charge of the patient’s care of their sleep disorder breathing he will have responsibility to understand the disease and to treat all aspects of it.  Just with any other dental disease that Dentists are trying to deal with, sleep disorder breathing has its medical side of things too.  The Dentist needs to learn the medical side and be able to refer all aspects of sleep disorders not treated by the Dentist, at the appropriate time just as he does now treating other dental diseases.  This will be a natural extension of a dental practice; however, it will put a large responsibility on the Dentist for additional training in order to treat this disorder.  This is going to open up a whole new avenue of teaching in both the dental schools and out in the continued education environment.  I look forward to be in part of that aspect of the growth of this profession, and I am committed to keeping the standard of the profession at the high as possible level. The future is bright for not only the profession, but for all the patients under the care of competent dentist.

 

God Bless,

Ron Prehn