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As we begin 2025, we are excited to announce the American Sleep and Breathing Academy’s (ASBA) annual meeting. This year co-hosted with the Southern Sleep Society. This collaboration will bring our members the most dynamic network in sleep medicine since 2019, reflecting the enduring vision of Alan Hickey who sadly passed away a few days ago on January 10.
Alan Hickey’s vision continues to guide us. One of his proudest achievements last year was announcing our best sleep medicine conference since the pandemic. This milestone event will take place in Houston, TX, on April 4-5, 2025. Bringing together over 700 attendees. It promises to be more than just a gathering—it will be a celebration of our enduring commitment to our shared mission. Collaborating with Southern Sleep not only more than doubles the attendance at the Annual Sleep & Wellness Conference, but also brings hundreds of medical professionals together with their counterparts from dental sleep, greatly enhancing opportunities for fostering working relationships.
As we gather in Houston this April, for the ASBA Annual Sleep & Wellness Conference let us honor Alan’s legacy by coming together in the spirit of collaboration and innovation. Let this conference be a testament to his vision, a vision of a world where sleep medicine professionals unite to make meaningful, lasting impacts on patient’s lives. The 2025 Conference will have two lecture tracks combining both dental and medical, with over 30 speakers of the very highest caliber. The lineup of speakers boasts an equal mix of DDS and MDs, each trailblazing in their respective fields and setting themselves apart. Attendees can also look forward to diverse classes, ample networking opportunities with peers and experts; offering both CE and CME with a larger showcase of vendor exhibit booths.
This joint conference will host a broad spectrum of professionals, including sleep physicians, ASBA-certified sleep dentists, registered PSG technicians, ENTs, pulmonologists, cardiologists, PAs, nurses, lab technicians, and allied healthcare professionals. Alan often referred to it as a "Meeting for the Ages," where barriers would be broken, ideas exchanged, and the future of sleep medicine reshaped.
One of Alan’s key focuses for this conference was to highlight the pivotal role of ASBA in training dentists toward advancing patient care. He was specifically passionate about sharing evidence-based insights into the transformative impact of the Herbst sleep appliance with its unparalleled efficacy in reducing apnea burden, alleviating disease, and improving long-term patient outcomes. These strengths led to the Herbst’s adoption by the Federal Government and Medicare, including its inclusion in the 2019 PDAC studies conducted by the NIH and regulatory data from CMS in 2015.
The ASBA focus is not just about science; it is about people too. Better education and networking opportunities translate into patients whose lives are transformed by ASBA-certified dentists. From overcoming severe sleep apnea to achieving life-changing weight loss, these patients found not just better sleep but a renewed quality of life.
Our academy is deeply inspired by the extraordinary dentists who have become ASBA diplomates, including leaders like Dr. Paul Serrano, Dr. Paul Serrano, Dr. Paul Van Wallingham, Dr. Ed Hobbs, and Dr. Brad Eli. Each of these individuals brought their expertise and compassion to the forefront. Their dedication to using Herbst-style appliances and their commitment to patient care and education was always a source of pride for Alan.
I want to highlight some of our members and the results of achieving dental sleep ASBA diplomacy in our past conferences.
First of which, is Dr. Paul Serrano, a diplomate of the ASBA, who is considered by many to be one of the finest orthodontists in all of America. He is one of the first members of the ASBA and worked Directly with the Dr. Robert Ricketts and Dr. Ed Spiegel.
Dr. Serrano preferably uses Herbst type Appliances for sleep disorders because he knows the value of the built-in lateral slop. That is very important, for instance, if a provider misses the airway bite a little to the left or a little to the right of the mandible while coming off the eminence, the Herbst design will automatically fix it. The Herbst allows Synovial fluid, Hyaluronic Acid, and the excursive movements that are needed, not like TMJ entrapments from dorsal fins. That is very crucial during sleep, especially during bruxism, other appliances are restricted in that sense! These are extra potentially unnecessary issues that he or other dentists have to mitigate when they don’t use Herbst ( Especially the dorsal fin appliances that lock patients in).
In contrast to fixed and constrictive appliances, the comfort and the benefits that the Herbst appliance provides for the TMJ will all benefit the patient from the Herbst Arm component, allowing range of motion during excursions in these oral appliances. Dr. Serrano has finished many cases where he had taken their AHI down to below 5. These patients’ oxygen minimum was at 90 and above, simply incredible! They come from all walks of life with their own personal struggles and stories from extreme.
Dr. Serrano informed me that he was fortunate enough to receive first-class training from the ASBA. He felt it was very valuable and saved him from buying unnecessary equipment, software, and test units. He said “The ASBA has provided Great training and education from greats like Dr. Ed Spiegel and Dr. Alan Bernstein. This has benefited members like myself. I am so loyal to the American Sleep and Breathing Academy, that even my son, Dr Andrew Serrano joined the academy and will be speaking at the annual meeting April 4th and 5th. For those who are just now beginning this journey this year we will have leaders like Dr. Atul Malhotra MD with the newest in sleep disorders and treatment.”
The best sleep experts have demonstrated that they value calibration titration and put in the necessary time to achieve and uphold the highest standards.
Dr. Jerry Hu, with practices in Las Vegas and Alaska comes highly recommended by Dr. Paul Serrano and whom I have had the opportunity to share patients with. Dr. Jerry Hu, a certified diplomate sleep expert had been using precision-milled dorsal fins prior to meeting David Gergen. Mr. Gergen explained to Dr. Hu all the value of the Herbst device that only a dentist of his skill level would understand. He put it into such a simple and articulate way that it completely resonated with Dr. Jerry Hu. Now he consistently gets his patients' AHI below 2.5. His record, most successful change, was a severe OSA patient now with a normal AHI. This patient had a dramatic improvement and change in the quality of his life. Prior to Dr. Hu this patient was morbidly obese and could not climb a flight of stairs. According to Dr. Hu this patient gives him all of the credit and he lost over 160 pounds of weight and is now very active. This patient also wished to thank David Gergen himself so Dr. Hu told me he made that phone call happen.
Another member Dr. Paul Van Wallingham, one of the founding members of ASBA and a well-renowned sleep dentist in Grosse Pointe Michigan and part of the Ford Medical Clinic, also uses the PDAC Herbst Appliance for his sleep patients as well. He, too, is knowledgeable about the government studies that back up this style of appliance. Being a sleep dentist and the credentialing director for the ASBA, he understands why the Herbst style appliance is the only one that makes any sense to him. It is the workhorse of dental sleep medicine.
Continuing with Dr. Hobbs in Dallas Texas, this fantastic dentist has years and years of knowledge and background in dental sleep medicine behind his name. He took over the wonderful practice of the great Dr. Harry Sugg and has continued his legacy of saving lives doing PDAC approved Herbst style appliances. Dr. Ed Hobbs is very meticulous and methodical. He is a CE junkie and utilizes the Rickett's Phonetic Silibant bite for all his Herbst appliances. He uses the original Ricketts bite. I would also like to add that Dr. Hobbs is one of the few tenth degree black belts in the world of Karate, having trained with the legendary two time Taekwondo world champion Mack Newton who has recently passed away. We both met Mack through David Gergen.
Finally, Dr. Brad Eli based in San Diego, CA. who is sleep expert who has an impressive volume of patients he has helped. Dr. Eli is an expert in TMJ and Pain management as well as airway. He, too, only uses the PDAC style appliance for his sleep patients.
Having dealt with so many pain and TMD patients, he is more than qualified to back up his preference for Herbst-style appliances. Dr. Eli has seen the freedom that these arms provide for movement. He has seen TMD subside using the downward and forward position that is a characteristic of this appliance. Like many others he has seen the side effects and problems that dorsal style restrictive appliances can have. This can lead to loss of confidence in the appliance as it may create more issues than it solves. By using Herbst style appliances, he has been able to improve the lives of his patients not only with sleep issues but also remove the debilitating pain from TMD as well as wean them off of pain medications. He is a hero to his patients.
These and many other talented ASBA members will be networking and teaching at our 2025 annual meeting. Alan Hickey will forever be remembered as a cornerstone of the ASBA and a tireless advocate for progress in sleep medicine. His work, his passion, and his unwavering belief in the power of collaboration will continue to inspire us all.
In his honor, let us move forward together, upholding the highest standards and striving to create a brighter future for sleep medicine. Alan, your legacy lives on in the work we do and the lives we change. You will be deeply missed, God bless.
David Gergen