My ProSomnus Device is Too Legit to Quit
And other MC Hammer lessons from the 2022 North American Dental Sleep Symposium
I was diagnosed with sleep apnea last year, and I’m what the insurance company calls a CPAP fail. Meaning it was prescribed, and I hated it. (If you ever want to look as unattractive as possible and wake up tangled in tubes, try sleeping with a CPAP.)
In search of a non-CPAP sleep solution, Dr. Yatros at New Concept Sleep (full disclosure, he is a client) fitted me with a ProSomnus device (yes, also a client). So am I kissing up to clients? I mean, a little. But, the numbers don’t lie.
Before I get ahead of myself, I was asked to deliver a keynote presentation at the North American Dental Sleep Symposium in Florida on February 11. Ahead of the conference, I used a Night Owl testing device to measure my quality of sleep with the new oral appliance, and the results were sent to Dr. Yatros.
My sleep test, before using the new oral device, showed my apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) at 21.
At the NADSM Symposium, Dr. Yatros revealed that my AHI had dropped to…
…two. I went from 21 partial or complete obstructions of my airway (what we laymen like to call “not breathing”) to two!
Here are my big takeaways from the NADSM Symposium:
1. My oral sleep device is indeed, in the immortal words of MC Hammer, “too legit to quit.”
I will never go back to being gagged awake by plastic tubes or my own tongue.
2. DSM is easier than it used to be, thanks to five key improvements:
- There are more devices on the market, which means more choices for patients
- Insurance is recognizing DSM as a sleep apnea treatment and C-PAP alternative
- Physicians are recognizing DSM as a sleep apnea treatment and C-PAP alternativez
- There are tools on the market that make making oral devices easier
- There are incredible advances in the remote monitoring of AHI events
3. Getting the word out about DSM is still very hard.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, sleep apnea occurs in approximately 25% of men and nearly 10% of women, yet it’s estimated that only 5-8% of people are being treated via DSM. So, why is this number so low?
The answer is simple: sleep apnea sufferers don’t know DSM is an option!
As I explained in my NADSM keynote address, there are steep challenges to getting the word out and competing with other forms of sleep apnea treatment. Even so, it’s worth the effort. When it comes to the proven impact of DSM on good sleep and overall wellness—relying once again on the musical poetry of MC Hammer—“you can’t touch this.”
The ProSomnus device has dramatically improved the quality of my sleep and, in turn, my life. As the owner of Bullseye Media, I have an opportunity to spread the message that DSM is an alternative when a CPAP machine isn’t the answer.
So let’s “pump it up.”
