C-02: Beyond the Bite: Advancing the Intersection of Orofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Medicine Through Evidence-Based Evaluations and Clinical Strategies

Course Chair: Katherine Phillips

This comprehensive one-day course bridges the connection between orofacial pain management and dental sleep medicine, providing clinicians with practical strategies to confidently evaluate, treat, and manage patients receiving oral appliance therapy. The program will cover essential examination techniques, TMD screening, oral appliance selection and delivery, side effect prevention and management, and treatment calibration using objective monitoring tools. Through interactive lectures and hands-on training, participants will develop clinical skills in intraoral and extraoral examination, bite registration, appliance adjustment techniques, and therapeutic interventions designed to improve patient outcomes and long-term treatment success.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Perform comprehensive patient evaluations using intraoral and extraoral examination techniques, including TMD screening, to identify patients who may require specialist referral prior to initiating oral appliance therapy.
2. Describe oral appliance therapy principles including mechanisms of action, appliance designs, patient selection considerations, and accurate bite registration techniques using clinical tools such as the George Gauge.
3. Recognize and manage common oral appliance therapy side effects by implementing evidence-based approaches including therapeutic exercises, stretching techniques, trigger point management, physical therapy strategies, medications, and AM Aligner/MOG protocols.
4. Implement calibration and follow-up strategies using portable home sleep testing devices, wearable technology, and validated questionnaires to assess treatment effectiveness and optimize patient outcomes.

Hands-On Component:
Participants will apply course concepts through interactive demonstrations and practice sessions, including TMD screening and clinical examinations, bite registration techniques, appliance evaluation, AM Aligner/MOG fabrication, and hands-on side effect management techniques such as stretching, exercises, trigger point injections, and lateral pterygoid manipulation.