The North American Dental Sleep Medicine Symposium Event Program | Page 23

Keith Thornton, DDS
Owner and CEO,
Airway Management
Friday at 8:15 am
the Grand Ballroom
Keith Thornton is a third generation Dallas dentist who practiced restorative
dentistry for 40 years in Dallas. He now has limited his practice to the treatment
of airway and breathing disorders, primarily during sleep. He is a member of nine
different dental and medical organizations and has had numerous leadership posi-
tions. He has been a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine
since 1993 and was an original Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine. He is a visiting
faculty member at A&M College of Dentistry, and is a consultant to the Army, Navy, Air Force and the VA.
He has developed a number of medical devices that treat snoring and obstructive sleep apnea and has 72
issued patents. The Dallas Intellectual Bar Association recently named him inventor of the year. He is the
founder, owner, CEO and chief technical officer for Airway Technologies Inc.
Disruptive Changes in Sleep; Looking into a
Crystal Ball
With the perspective of 23 years as a clinician, teacher, inventor, and entrepreneur, I envision a radical
change in the delivery of therapy for the diagnosis and treatment of breathing and sleep disorders related
to the airway. Disruptive legal, political, economic, diagnostic, and technological changes will be discussed.
Learning Objectives | After this hour presentation, participants will be equipped with information and
insights to ponder the following:
1. Failure of traditional sleep medicine and therapeutic management by CPAP
2. ADA’s policy on Sleep Related Breathing Disorders and its effect on the scope of practice
3. Update on state board actions and initiatives by the AASM
4. Reimbursement and other economic changes
5. Diagnostic, therapeutic, management, and treatment innovations
6. Proposed treatment and management algorithm
Nicole Chenet, DDS, DABDSM
Dental Sleep Practitioner,
Sleep Apnea Dental Center
Friday at 1:45 pm
the Grand Ballroom
Dr. Nicole Chenet has three locations in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania includ-
ing the Allegheny Health Network Center for Sleep Medicine and has limited her
treatment to Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Snoring. She is a Diplomate of the Amer-
ican Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. She also is a member of the American
Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, and the American Dental Association.
Refer, Don’t Defer; Coordinating with Sleep
Specialists for Stable Outcomes
Dental Sleep Medicine providers should be an integral part of a multi-disciplinary team. Physicians shouldn’t
practice in a vacuum and neither should dentists. Knowing who to refer to and when based on each patient’s
unique presentation is key. Dr. Chenet will share the “who, when, and why” regarding the rationale for refer-
rals when Oral Appliance Therapy achieves sub-optimal results. Attendees will understand why and when
to refer to the following specialists:
Learning Objectives | Attendees will understand why and when to refer to the following specialists:
1. Psychological- SSRI medication and thei