Dental Sleep Medicine Insider September 2017 | Page 26

’ HO S W W HO Dr. GREGORY ROSS INTERVIEWED BY Brandie Havell Senior Account Manager [email protected] 877.95.SNORE Brandie Havell: As an orthodontist, what prompted you to get involved in Dental Sleep Medicine? Dr. Gregory Ross: Just seeing how much better patient’s breathing seemed to improve after expand- ing narrow Maxillary arches in cross bite. In addition, venous pooling under the eyes would go away. It made me realize there must really be something to the classic articles on Adenoid faces. BH: You rely heavily on a digital workflow in the DSM portion of your practice. What was the genesis for this? DGR: I got involved with Invisalign right as it came out in the early 2000’s. I thought moving teeth dig- itally was pretty cool. I thought the iTero scanner was really cool, espe- cially when I could also scan for oth- er orthodontics appliances, such as retainers and expanders. BH: How has digital positively im- pacted the DSM facet of your prac- tice? What are the cons to it? DGR: As digital scans have improved the fit of aligners, it has been good and bad for oral sleep appliances since they may fit too well. However, the benefit of being able to send the scans of the maxillary and mandib- ular arches along with the working position, without pouring, packing and postage outweighs any little extra time that may be needed for relief of the appliance to fit. BH: There are capital expenditures associated with introducing digital workflow. How would you respond to a dentist that cites this as a reason for not proceeding with it? DGR: These days, a dentist has the benefit of lower prices and better equipment. With the affordability of 3D printers now, dentist will be able to fabricates more sleep applianc- es for their own patients. At some point, you have to jump on the train before it passes you by. BH: What digital equipment do you use for your OAT cases? DGR: I have three itero scanners, a 3d printer and Orchestrate and Net fab software. A good lab that ac- cepts digital bites is a must, such as Dynaflex. BH: How has digital improved your results? Predictability? Efficiency? Other benefits? DGR: Appliances do adapt well to the teeth. This makes the predict- ability of the appliances much bet- ter. No worries about air bubbles and voids. The scanner actual warns you if you miss an area on the tooth. Efficiency is the greatest aspect of it, no pouring up models, pack- ing them up and mailing them, just a few minutes to upload a few files. Also, patients love not have gooey stuff in their mouth.