IAOS presents…
The Dental Hygiene Academy of Sleep

The only sleep training for hygienists of its kind

Right now, your sleep practice is losing money.

Because you’ve maxed out your “invisible” revenue upper limit:

As the sleep doctor, your time cannot be multiplied. So how can you possibly scale your capacity to educate, screen, and diagnose more sleep patients without another ‘YOU’?

The answer is right in front of you – and it’s your hygienist.

Why? Your hygienist spends more time with the patient than ANYONE else in your practice – often 4x as much time!

And a hygienist trained in dental sleep medicine expands your reach while reducing your workload at the very same time!

Where’s Your Practice Headed?

We believe that Dental Sleep Medicine is the best niche in dentistry – but what about the next step in your journey of healthcare entrepreneurship

The business tactics that got you here aren’t necessarily the ones that will get you to your next breakthrough, whether that’s a new revenue threshold or achieving more time freedom through better operational efficiency.

What’s At Stake if You Do Nothing

Turnover. With the average dental employee lasting just 18 months on average, turnover is one of the most expensive problems facing dentists today.

Hygienists don’t leave ‘bad jobs.’ They leave behind leaders that fail to give them a reason to stay. Want to keep yours around?

Show them the value they’re capable of driving for your practice and their patients.

In fact, doctors who leverage and empower their hygienists as a critical member of their sleep treatment diagnostic team have been proven to be far more successful in sleep than those who don’t.

By fully engaging your hygienist in dental sleep medicine, they can… 

  • Become the first-line preventive sleep treatment specialist in your practice 
  • Pre-sell your patient on their treatment plan before you even arrive for their check-up, and 
  • Turn into a major generator of new revenue in your practice, and 
  • Help you shift toward more time freedom as the business owner, 

…All for a nominal fee that will pay for itself with just two new appliances. And the dividends will continue to come – as an investment in your team and to your practice’s bottom line.

Your Current PracticeTraining Your Sleep Hygienist
Additional Sleep Patient Volume02-4 per New Patients per Month with Zero Marketing Spend
Your Chairside TimeIncreases, Taking Time Away from You & Your FamilyDecreases, Increasing Freedom
Employee RetentionDecreases, Increasing Turnover CostIncreases, Lowering Cost
Total Return on InvestmentLost RevenueUp to $3,000 per Appliance
& up to 6-Figures in New Revenue

I’m a Hygienist – Why IAOS?

If you’re reading this, you’re not just a hygienist.
You’re a growth-oriented healthcare professional. You are in a unique position to be a leader to your patients and colleagues.

When you become your practice’s go-to sleep expert, something remarkable happens.

You get to open doors for patients: doors to more than just a cleaner, healthier smile.

This is about opening up the door for more people to live longer, healthier lives by diagnosing and treating sleep apnea.

Inside the The Dental Hygiene Academy of Sleep, you’ll master sleep science and communication so that you can:

Educate patients

Run the dental sleep medicine process

Lead the team from the patient front-lines

Sell cases & help your doctor grow the practice quickly

Move toward more fulfillment in your career

Grow your impact & income

Let’s be clear here. There’s a major financial incentive for hygienists here.

For the average sleep practitioner, a new sleep patient is worth about $3,000 in reimbursements.

That means a modest 5% commission per appliance for you, the hygienist, would start at $150 per case. At even just 2 patients per week, that adds up fast.

What would an extra $15,000 to your annual income for the upcoming year – how might that impact your current lifestyle and financial goals? Negotiating this kind of compensation is exactly what you’ll learn inside the program!

About Our Program

Designed specifically with hygienists in mind, our new 12-month Dental Hygiene Academy of Sleep Program focuses on the information your team members need the most – to empower them to become the key to increasing identification and sell-through of sleep treatment plans in your office.

Monthly educational modules plus quarterly open-forum, workshop style Q&As are all delivered online and are designed to allow participants to interact with their coach, present cases, and to inquire clarity on course content from the ease and comfort of your office or their homes.

Quarterly happy hour [Q&A Driven]
[4 CE credits]

Access to an open community forum of sleep & airway experts

12 On-Demand Learning Modules
[12 CE credits]

2023 Curriculum

Module 1

Introduction + Overview of Airway & Sleep Medicine Management

Airway challenges and obstructed sleep disorders impact undiagnosed patients in a myriad of ways, with the vast majority of these disorders indicating systemic disease. This module delivers an introduction and overview of current understandings of prevalence of disease, and the unique role of the dental clinician in optimizing early and definitive identification of these life-altering complications.

Program Objectives:

  • Review prevalence of airway disorders
  • Explore current challenges in diagnosis of airway issues
  • Identify the role of the dental practitioner in identifying airway complications

Release Date: January 23, 2023

Module 2

The Assessment Phase Pt 1: Medical History

A patient’s medical history can be dense with comorbidities associated with undiagnosed or poorly-addressed airway complications, and can provide the dental practitioner with incredible data about early identification of these issues. Part 1 of the assessment phase begins with identifying how the medical history can provide clues to early detection of airway challenges.

Program Objectives:

  • Identify comorbidities associated with airway complications 
  • Discuss early identification opportunities within the medical history 
  • Describe the medical history of an individual who may be an undiagnosed case of airway complications

Release Date: February 20, 2023

Module 3

The Assessment Phase Pt 2: Underlying Medical Conditions + Vital Signs

It is well understood that various comorbidities may result from sleep disorders or occluded airway; however, it is critical for the dental practitioner to understand how these manifest in the undiagnosed patient. Part 2 of the assessment phase focuses on identifying the interdependent link between underlying medical conditions, their plausibility to airway challenges, and how vital signs can provide a key marker for identification.

Program Objectives:

  • Review the co-morbidities that may result as a component of airway obstructive disorders
  • Describe the interdependent link between airway issues and subsequent systemic diseases
  • Identify vital signs that may indicate an underlying airway complication

Release Date: March 20, 2023

Module 4

The Assessment Phase Pt 3: Tethered Oral Tissues

Head and neck examinations have begun identifying orofacial complications which may lend themselves to better understanding parafunctional habits. As dental practitioners advance in their understanding of oral soft tissues, an assessment of tethered oral tissues is critical for airway evaluation. Part 3 of the clinical assessment phase will look at identifying concerning tethered oral tissues that may contribute to airway and sleep disorders.

Program Objectives:

  • Discover prevalence and complications associated with orofacial observations
  • Discuss common tethered oral tissue findings affiliated with airway issues
  • Review safe and legal documentation of tethered oral tissues

Release Date: April 17, 2023

Module 5

The Assessment Phase Pt 4: Oropharyngeal Observations

The observation of unaddressed tethered oral tissues often creates a cascade of events that lead to orofacial challenges, malocclusion or occlusal issues, and eventual observations of oropharyngeal challenges. Part 4 of the clinical assessment phase concludes with observing how orofacial complications can impact the observation of the oropharynx.

Program Objectives:

  • Explore the parafunctional cascade as it relates to malocclusion
  • Discuss the role of Mallampati Classification in identifying oropharyngeal complications
  • Identify oropharyngeal conditions that may lead to airway obstructive disorders

Release Date: May 15, 2023

Module 6

The Diagnosis Phase: Identification of Airway Conditions

A large component of the airway begins in the oral cavity, particularly if nasal breathing is not achieved. It is critical for the oral health care practitioner to understand the wide variety of airway conditions that may all impact sleep disorders, as well as the role they have in attaining a diagnosis of said disorders. The diagnosis phase includes a review of airway and sleep disorder conditions.

Program Objectives:

  • Describe the diagnosis process for airway and sleep disorders
  • Explore airway conditions that may influence a particular diagnosis
  • Identify the opportunities and referrals needed to help a dental patient achieve a correct diagnosis

Release Date: June 19, 2023

Module 7

The Planning Phase Pt 1:  Risk Assessment + Lifestyle Habits

As a preventive specialist, the dental hygienist is well positioned to identify the potential risks associated with an airway obstructive disorder and subsequent sleep complication. What’s more: lifestyle habits contribute greatly to the underlying risk and subsequent experience of airway challenges. The planning phase begins with a complex overview of risk factors and lifestyle habits as they relate to airway and sleep management.

Program Objectives:

  • Identify common risk factors that lend to elevated risks of airway complications
  • Describe lifestyle habits that may contribute to advanced airway and sleep disorders
  • Explore the interdependent link between habits & risk factors as they relate to further complicating co-morbidities and subsequent airway challenges

Release Date: July 17, 2023

Module 8

The Planning Phase Pt 2: Developing a Therapeutic Plan

It is critical that patients diagnosed with an airway obstructive disorder understand their treatment plan options for management of such a life-altering disease. Part 2 of the planning phase looks at how to identify an appropriate patient-centric therapeutic plan customized to target the specific manifestations of their individual airway and sleep complications.

Program Objectives:

  • Review common treatment modalities for the management of airway and sleep disorders
  • Discuss indications and contraindications as well as patient preferences for various treatment modalities
  • Identify the role of the oral health care practitioner in participating in the planning of airway and sleep management

Release Date: August 21, 2023

Module 9

The Planning Phase Pt 3:  Patient Communication Strategies

Patient communication is critical to the successful acceptance of any treatment care plan. The final module in the planning phase will review the most frequently asked questions and concerns for a patient with sleep disorders, as well as how to address these and other common objections to achieve optimal case acceptance.

Program Objectives:

  • Identify optimal terminology for team verbiage calibration
  • Review common objections to treatment care plans affiliated with sleep disorders
  • Discover optimal responses to move patients to airway management case acceptance

Release Date: September 18, 2023

Module 10

The Implementation Phase: Therapeutic Modalities

Perhaps the important phase is the implementation of critical care aimed to address airway challenges and subsequent sleep disorders. These therapeutic modalities require the involvement of the oral health care practitioner to counsel the patient through the receipt of their device and/or care for optimal airway management.

Program Objectives:

  • Review common mid-treatment challenges with patients experiencing airway disorders
  • Identify counseling principles needed to manage and mitigate airway and sleep disorders
  • Describe additional oral manifestations frequently affiliated with airway management

Release Date: October 16, 2023

Module 11

The Evaluation Phase: Maintenance + Evaluation

Patients with airway complications and subsequent sleep disorders that can readily contribute to co-morbidities will require lifelong evaluation and maintenance to ensure continual support. As preventive specialists, the dental hygienist holds a critical role in providing supportive measures that provide ongoing evaluation, treatment updates, and maintenance care for a patient with this chronic disease.

Program Objectives:

  • Review optimal and legal documentation of maintenance and evaluation of airway obstructive disorders
  • Discuss the management and handling of new comorbidity discoveries throughout a lifetime
  • Explore critical responsibilities of the dental hygienist in the evaluation and maintenance of airway and sleep disorders

Release Date: November 20, 2023

Module 12

The Business of Airway & Sleep Management

The management of airway and sleep disorders provides an opportunity for dental hygienists to take on a deeper role, not only in managing the oral-systemic link, but also as a business owner. Discover how dental hygienists can create and maintain a sustainable, impactful, and profitable business in airway and sleep management while serving the greater needs of their patient population

Program Objectives:

  • Discuss common medical billing opportunities for the management of airway and sleep disorders
  • Explore unique clinical applications for dental hygienists to optimize a specialized column of sleep-management patients
  • Describe various business models appropriate for the swift management and maintenance of airway and sleep disorders

Release Date: December 18, 2023

Meet Your Instructor

Katrina Sanders

RDH, BSDH, M.Ed, RF

In the ever-changing world of dental science, where research, technology and techniques for patient care are constantly evolving, dental professionals look to continuing education to provide insight, deliver actionable steps, empower and create a dramatic impact within their clinical practice.

With wit, charm and a dash of humor, Katrina Sanders enchants dental professionals with her course deliverables, insightful content and delightful inspiration. Her message of empowerment rings mighty throughout her lectures and stirs a deep sense of motivation amongst course participants.

Dentists who make their teams a strategic part of their practice’s success through bringing them up to speed on business goals, direction and growth are always more success than those who don’t.

Practice Owners Often Ask Katrina…

How can I get my hygienist to talk to patients like you do?

How can I get my hygienist to be as passionate as you?

The answer is simple: training & integration!

Praise for Katrina Sanders

“Katrina brings a fresh approach and a refreshing style that combines real science with real world skills.”

–Katherine Eitel Belt, Communications Expert

“She not only has the years of clinical experience to back up her stories but a contrarian approach to learning and educating that is a breath of fresh air when it comes teaching the future of our industry.”

– John Stamper, CEO; CE Exchange

Two Pricing Options

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The Dental Hygiene Academy of Sleep

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$4,997

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