![]() ![]() Sleep apnea is a condition that is associated with diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure and stroke.ĭental providers of sleep apnea appliances often cite that medical reimbursement is perhaps the most difficult part of implementing sleep therapy into a dental office. If the airway is subject to a total collapse, sleep apnea has occurred. The partial airway collapse and restriction of airflow could result in upper airway resistance syndrome, a condition that, if prolonged, may result in daytime sleepiness and a 42% increased risk of developing high blood pressure, even if all other symptoms appear normal. ![]() However, snoring can lead to potentially serious health implications. In its simplest form, snoring is a benign issue that may cause bed partner disturbance. This collapse is made much worse if patients sleep on their back, or if they’ve consumed alcohol or eaten a large meal. As air rushes over the relaxed tissues, they vibrate, creating the snoring sound. It is important to understand the effect of the upper airway on respiration during sleep.Īs a patient falls asleep, the muscles, ligaments and tissues of the airway relax, and the tongue falls into the back of the throat, causing a partial airway obstruction. The health implications of the two conditions can be very different. Snoring and sleep apnea are breathing disorders of the upper airway that have similar etiology. In addition, it will include a discussion of the impact of customized dental devices on patients, and provide an overview of how medical reimbursement works today. As such, this article will briefly describe the new CDT codes for sleep apnea appliances. These codes fill a void in the current dental code set, and are expected to make the documentation and reporting of these treatments within dentistry much easier.Īlthough it remains to be seen what, if any, effect the terminology and reporting codes will have on current medical reimbursement or possible dental insurance reimbursement for these procedures, this is an important issue in sleep dentistry. 1, 2022, dental codes for the treatment of sleep apnea will be available for dentists to use for patients with a physician’s diagnosis. In April 2021, the American Dental Association (ADA) approved adoption of current dental terminology (CDT) codes, and the organization has announced that as of Jan. CPT codes are a list of standardized procedure codes established and maintained by the American Medical Association (AMA). Insurance reimbursement for the delivery of a sleep apnea appliance has required dentists to register as care providers with medical insurance companies, so that they can bill sleep apnea therapy with current procedural terminology (CPT) codes. Since that time, the laboratory has provided dentists with over 400,000 sleep devices from its family of patient-specific appliances, achieving excellent results.Ī persistent challenge for dentists, however, has been reimbursement for sleep apnea treatment. Glidewell has been helping these clinicians facilitate treatment since 1996, with the introduction of the Silent Nite ® Sleep Appliance. ![]() Dentists have been providing sleep apnea treatment with dental appliances since the late 1980s.
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