Dr. Eckhart gave a 2 hour talk over dinner to 40 South Bay dentists May 14, 2014, at the Torrance Civic Center. The talk was to bring them up-to-date on Dentistry's Role in Treating Sleep Disordered Breathing. Many people, especially those overweight, suffer from loud snoring and frequent gasping for air while sleeping. Many of them have been fitted with a breathing airmask attached to an air pump to keep their airway open, but find the device less than pleasant or even intolerable. Dr. Eckhart advised the attendees about inexpensive medically insured new methods of home sleep testing people in the comfort of their own bedroom to find out how severe their breathing blockages are, safely and accurately. He also described to the audience how oral appliances can substitute for the dis-liked air mask, by being worn inside the mouth and posturing the oral tissues to keep the airway open without anything external on the face. He showed several different types of oral devices and explained how each works. He suggested methods to determine in advance if a dental device for snoring will be effective and tolerated. He taught the dentists what criteria medical insurance companies use in deciding whether such treatments are medically necessary, and how to word insurance claims properly.
