I recently interviewed Dr. Dar Radfar on the Stress-Free Dentist Podcast. He is a practicing dentist who teaches other dentists about treating obstructive sleep apnea.
“Yeah, I’m an immigrant from Iran. I escaped to this country back when I was six years old in 1983. One of the things when we were going through the mountains of Iran, I was told not to fall asleep as I was on horseback holding the waist of this Kurdish man who was helping me cross the border. And he told me not to fall asleep because I’d fall off the horse and fall off the cliff. Fast forward to 2009. I’m driving my car in Calabasas, California, and about a block from my house, I fall asleep at the wheel and crash my car into a tree.” explains Dar.
Dr. Radfar became his first sleep apnea patient.
He could not tolerate the CPAP machine, so he made himself an oral appliance.
Dr Radfar says, “Since then, I’ve been blessed to help over 1600 patients with oral appliances. I travel the country and talk about incorporating sleep apnea into people’s practices.”
Untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea
It is so essential for dentists to understand the medical comorbidities and their correlation with sleep issues.
We need to evaluate the patient’s medical history and evaluate the history of heart attack, stroke, cancer, high blood pressure, acid reflux, depression, frequent nighttime urination, etc.
Understanding the signs and symptoms of undiagnosed sleep apnea patients is also critical.
We need to clinically look for such things as lower anterior wear, bruxism, or scalloped tongue.
Dar says, “Often when patients are grinding their lower jaw forward, they do their mandibular advancement. They’re thrusting their tongue forward. That indicates that their clenched forward grind and the pits on the molars are occurring. That’s all Airway, sure.”
Once you learn how to do this and see it, you can’t unsee it.
It often starts with just asking questions.
Ask the patients and get the conversation going.
Such as “How well do you sleep at night?” or “Does anyone tell you that you snore?”
The Medical Community And Osa
The mandibular advancement device or oral appliance is a device that dentists can make to help their patients, and the compliance may be better than that of a CPAP machine.
Only a dentist can make this device; its primary purpose is to protrude the mandible forward to move the tongue forward and away from closing off the airway.
Many physicians don’t know how this can be a great alternative to CPAP if a patient can’t tolerate a CPAP and doesn’t want surgery.
We need to emphasize the need for dentists to communicate with medical doctors and share information about patients’ sleep studies and treatment plans.
Medical doctors in the community may need to be better versed in obstructive sleep apnea.
Dr. Radfar explains, “The newest studies have shown a five times higher risk of cancer of any kind if a patient is not treated for sleep apnea.
Now, I work backward, so I’m thinking, does every oncologist who diagnoses a patient with any sort of cancer, do they give them a home sleep test to make sure the remission of the cancer is under control because the patient is not breathing, going through stressful fight or flight response.
All the mechanisms that their blood flow, oxygen, and blood flow are mutating because they’re not getting any oxygen to their vital organs. But as it does that, it feeds the cancer cells even more.
So, our dentists’ job is to examine our patients and educate them and the medical community about the potential correlation between medical comorbidities and sleep.”
A great tip is to send a letter to all of the patient’s physicians.
Write how you have already serviced their patients and how they sleep and feel better. Make a name for yourself in the community.
This is a great relationship builder and a significant marketing tool, as you may start to get referrals from local physicians.
Low-Level Laser Therapy
Cold Laser Therapy or Low-Level Laser Therapy is an excellent postoperative pain treatment option.
Dr. Radfar uses the EVRL laser from the Erchonia corporation, which is also great at generating revenue for dental practices through medical insurance codes and is FDA-cleared for postoperative pain.
The lasers differ from most current cut and cauterize lasers on the dental market.
With its double diode violet and red light, it can decrease inflammation and promote healing without causing discomfort.
As it hits the gum tissue, the cheek area, the temporalis, or the masseter muscles, it reduces the inflammation and allows more blood flow to the site for healing.
Dr. Radfar explains, “So not only are you reducing the pain by 45% for patients, so they’re less likely to take Advil, Motrin, Norco, Percocet, Tylenol, or whatever that they’re asking for, and we try to minimize those pain meds, but it’s also billable now under medical insurance.
These are significant revenue-generating options for our practice and also help with our dental approach because low-level laser therapy reduces postoperative pain.
And that’s exciting because we all want less pain when we leave the dental office.”
Clinical studies have shown a 45% reduction in postoperative pain.
More importantly, accelerated healing is due to the anti-inflammatory effect of the mitochondria, which is stimulated by this low-level laser therapy and produces more ATP in the mitochondria.
This ATP produces certain enzymes that reduce inflammation, resulting in less inflammation and quicker healing.
Pet Dental Products
Dr. Radfar also has a “Rad Pet” dental kit, which includes water additives and dental wipes to maintain pets’ oral health. He emphasizes the importance of pet dental hygiene for their overall well-being.
“It’s been working wonders because dental hygiene for pets is crucial to their overall health, heart, kidney, and immune system.
There have been so many correlations; sadly, we neglect them, and they’re part of our family.
There’s this unconditional love that they give us, and it behooves us to be able to take care of their oral cavity, especially if we’re in the dental field.” says Dar.
Conclusion
Dr. Radfar advises young dentists to expand their services and stay educated to generate more revenue for their practices.
To find out more about what Dr. Radfar has to offer his dental community, such as his seminars and products, visit Radseminar.com and RadHealth.
About the Author
Dr. Eric Block DMD, CAGS, FICOI, FICD, FAADS
Dr. Eric Block is a full-time practicing dentist in Acton, Massachusetts, husband, and father of two kids. He is known as The Stress-Free Dentist and hosts the Stress-Free Dentist Podcast.