Jason Tierney
Editor-in-chief
IN BED WITH THE EDITOR
Aim, Aim, Aim,
The Dental Sleep Medicine Insider
[email protected]
314-882-7746
Stop by Booth
#310 at the
AADSM Meeting
for a Free Hi-5!
SHOOT!
I used to play basketball.
That was seemingly a life-
time ago. I remember one
game, down by 1 point with
just seconds to go. The ball
was inbounded. Our crowd
was cheering while theirs
was jeering with deafening
ferocity. I was a fairly adept
3 point shooter but not very
strong in the paint. The ball
was passed to me near the
foul line with NO ONE within
6 feet of me. I received the
rock, looked to the basket,
and dribbled the ball. Sec-
onds crept by in a timeline
that seemed like hours while
I fixed my gaze on the net.
Then, the buzzer shattered
my concentration with the
ball still in my hands. We
lost the game. I failed. My
emphasis on taking the per-
fect shot eliminated the op-
portunity to take ANY shot.
So why am I regaling you
with 30 year old tales of bas-
ketball failings?
What could this possibly
have to do with dental sleep
medicine (DSM)?
I speak with dentists inter-
ested in DSM every day. They
always want to help patients,
increase their career satis-
faction, and generate more
production. However, they
aren’t all ready to take the
shot. Too often, they pro-
crastinate, waiting for some
ever-elusive prime time to
implement. They don’t want
to treat any patients until
they’ve received their Medi-
care number. They don’t
want to get their Medicare
number until they’ve treat-
ed some nebulous number
of patients to warrant get-
ting credentialed. The num-
ber of dentists I’ve spoken
with that have attended 50+
hours of DSM CE without
having ever treated a patient
is mind-boggling.
Aim, aim, aim, THE BUZZER
SOUNDS. Opportunity lost.
Game over. You lose, the
team loses, your patient los-
es.
What’s the alternative? Yes,
you have to get educated.
Yes, you have to have sys-
tems in place. Screen your
patients, implement best
practices, and start treat-
ing your team, their fami-
ly members, your friends.
There will never be a perfect
team, the perfect time, the
perfect patient, or the per-
fect shot. The buzzer is al-
ways ticking and there are
always defenders. Shoot the
ball.