Dr. Harold Black, DDS of Morrison Dental Associates has been invited to speak on treatment of obstructive sleep apnea with oral appliance therapy at the Georgia Association of Sleep Professionals annual meeting on April 26 at the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta.
Dr. Black is the only dentist on the teaching faculty and will be presenting a technical review of oral appliance therapy as a non-surgical treatment for sleep apnea. Oral appliance therapy is a non-surgical treatment for snoring and mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea that provides patients with a less intrusive alternative to using a CPAP machine to correct sleep apnea.
Dr. Black has practiced dentistry in Savannah for more than 50 years and is considered the founding father of dental sleep medicine in Savannah. Oral appliances are custom made and fit in the mouth during sleep like a sports mouth guard or orthodontic retainer, and Dr. Black works in coordination with a patient’s physician to provide diagnosis, treatment and ongoing care.
He was a charter member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine in the early 1990s, and his pioneering approach to dental sleep medicine has enabled him to develop longstanding consultative relationships with pulmonologists, neurologists and other physicians who treat sleep disorders. As a nationally renowned expert on dental sleep medicine, his treatment protocol and research has helped shape the practice of dental sleep medicine.