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This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending my third ASBA study club and I every time I have attended, I have learned new concepts that allow me to provide excellent care to my patients as soon as I return home.
The speakers have a vast wealth of knowledge and the discussion and questions between peers is always valued and respected. It is a breath of fresh air to be surrounded with like-minded professionals and part of such a wonderful group whose sole mission is to improve the quality of life of patients.
The doctors giving the lectures have vast experience treating airway, TMD and ortho.
Dr. Jerry Hu is very knowledgeable and you can tell that he genuinely wants to make a difference in people’s lives. He discusses multiple topics regarding patient care, insurance billing, and oral appliance therapy (mandibular advancement devices). He specializes in combining multiple modalities to lower patient’s AHIs to astonishingly low numbers with the use of the classic Herbst sleep appliance from Gergen’s Lab.
This is one of the best Herbst style devices on the market, made with quality materials to allow for a comfortable and precise fit every time.
Dr. Tim Adams’ lecture on Craniofacial strains is always eye opening, combining Newtonian principles and Quantum physics to help us understand how the body relates and reacts to different stimuli.
His use of the open loop cricket is a simple yet innovative approach, providing us an alternative to treat both children and adults who suffer from multifactorial conditions including craniofacial torsion, TMD, headaches, clenching, grinding, poor posture, head and neck misalignment, airway issues, etc.
Scott Parker’s lecture provided yet another alternative to treat patients when he talked about soft tissue CO2 laser therapy. Utilizing the Deka laser, this therapy can be useful in eliminating or reducing snoring by stimulating the production of collagen in the soft palate and aiding in the decontamination of the tonsils.
Last but not least, Dr. Francisco Eraso shared some wonderful pearls on orthodontic treatment and how we need to be mindful of airway and TMJ position as we consider patient treatment planning to optimize results and avoid common pitfalls.
As an orthodontist and a radiologist, his knowledge about cone beam interpretation and what to look for through imaging was very insightful.
During this last meeting, David Gergen unveiled several new cutting edge orthodontic devices. The first was an Epigenetic 3 way expander with Memory screws followed by the fan expander all with memory screw. I loved them all, putting ASBA again at the forefront of innovation and education.
Thanks again for a fantastic weekend.
Dr. Olga Rodriguez-Valle, DASBA, DABDSM
Las Vegas, Nevada