Spear Workshops on sleep medicine and temporomandibular disorder have been condensed into versatile, single-day virtual seminars.

“Sleep Apnea Management in Restorative Practice” (March 27, Oct. 22) and “TMD in Restorative Practice” (July 17) provide added flexibility through the Spear Virtual Seminar format, giving dentists the opportunity to learn on the go, from anywhere, rather than shutting down the practice to travel to campus in Scottsdale.

While hands-on, lab-based Spear Workshops remain available on campus in 2021, Spear Seminars are now entirely virtual. There is no better time to discover the full versatility of these interactive online presentations by Resident Faculty that allow clinicians to achieve their dental CE goals in reduced time.

Spear Seminars are now exclusively available to members with qualifying packages – so, signing up for an unlimited access membership like Faculty Club is the best way to start absorbing everything Spear has to offer.

Check the Spear Calendar for details on upcoming virtual seminars and workshops, in addition to other information from across the Spear ecosystem.

'Sleep Medicine' workshop available in new sleep apnea online seminar

An estimated 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea. This condition can lead to numerous health problems ranging from cardiovascular issues to depression. Dentists are in a unique position to help, as many of the signs are symptoms that can be observed in the mouth.

The “Sleep Apnea Management in Restorative Practice” seminar helps clinicians who are treating, or who would like to treat, patients who have sleep apnea and require CPAP or appliance therapy to manage their disease.

The "Sleep Apnea" seminar provides an excellent opportunity as a stand-alone course for clinicians who are considering offering appliance therapy for apnea in their practice or for those who have taken Dr. Jeff Rouse's “Airway Prosthodontics” seminar to continue to expand their airway management options.

'Sleep Apnea' seminar overview

  • 6.5 CE credits
  • Instructors: John Remmers, M.D.; Steve Carstensen, D.D.S.; Gary DeWood, D.D.S., M.S.

“Prevent-Control-Resolve:” Observations regarding airway health have become the standard of care in dental practice. Particularly important if your practice has children in it, this philosophy seeks to identify the emerging causes of airway problems and thereby prevent the negative impact that we see in both children and adults.

With the final goal of airway management is resolution, some patients will require long-term control of the problem through CPAP or oral appliance therapy. This seminar discusses the medical/dental interaction required when control becomes the therapeutic intervention and how the dentist is an important partner in the clinical management of these patients when oral appliance therapy provides the management that controls sleep apnea.

Seminar learning objectives include:

  • Observations every dentist needs to master regarding airway
  • Understanding sleep and sleep testing, medical risks, and working with the physician
  • Oral appliance designs, insertion, adjustment, evaluation, and complications
  • Managing the business aspects of providing oral appliance therapy

'TMD' online seminar makes key clinical issue easier to grasp

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) represent a wide range of problems that can be one of the more challenging things for a clinician to address in practice.

As participants explore in the “TMD in Restorative Practice” seminar, symptoms experienced as jaw pain can be hard to address due to the complexity and interconnectedness of the joints, the teeth, the muscles, and manifestations of systemic conditions. These problems can dramatically affect a doctor's ability to predictably perform even basic restorative procedures such as a crown.

'TMD in Restorative Practice' overview

  • 6.5 CE credits
  • Instructors: Herb Blumenthal, D.D.S.; John Droter, D.D.S.; Matt Stensrud, D.P.T.; and Gary DeWood, D.D.S., M.S.

TMD patients present the restorative dentist with challenges that frequently involve much more than an intimate knowledge of occlusion to address. For some, referral is the preferred action when more than occlusion seems to be involved.

For others, focused diagnostic observations and imaging are the first step when more is suspected. Diagnostic and therapeutic changes to the occlusion utilizing appliances can provide additional information regarding etiology.

Physical therapy to recreate muscle harmony prescribed in association with occlusal stability can bring relief and healing for many TMD patients. The broad range of presentations means that TMD is not a single disease entity and it does not have a single management strategy.

The most important step in helping patients is understanding and applying diagnostic tools that lead to successful therapeutic strategies. This seminar will walk you the observations, diagnostics, and imaging that will help you decide if this patient's dentistry is predictably manageable in your office.

This is an exceptional stand-alone learning experience but will be especially helpful for those who have attended the “Demystifying Occlusion” seminar and are interested in going deeper into functional relationships.

Participants will learn:

  • Why some TMJ clicks are dangerous, and some are not
  • How and when to order imaging (CBCT and MRI)
  • Reading and interpreting CT and MRI
  • Identifying patients at high risk for dental treatment
  • Identifying postural changes associated with TMD
  • Why and how to refer to physical therapy

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