In this two day hands-on course in Sydney, Prof Vasilios Chronopoulos and Dr Konstantinos Tsoutis explain the treatment of TMJ dysfunctions and obstructive sleep apnoea.

Learning Objectives
By the end of the course participants will be:
• Able to construct a CR Splint in the Dental Office.
• Able to determine the appropriate Occlusal Scheme and perform Occlusal Equilibration.
• Familiar with the common sleep disorders of snoring and sleep apnoea and their connection with everyday clinical dental problems.
• Able to diagnose simple and complex occlusal and TMD problems and to decide when, how to treat them.
• Capable of identifying the symptoms and intraoral signs of snoring and sleep apnoea on their patients.
• Able to select and adjust the appropriate oral appliance for the management of TMD, snoring and sleep apnoea.

Content of Clinical Hands-on exercise:
• Intraoral fabrication of anterior deprogrammer.
• Intraoral fabrication and adjustment of centric relation splint.
• Clinical examination of TMD.
• Airway evaluation. Clinical signs of airway obstruction.
• Bite registration for sleep apnoea oral appliance.

Topics Covered
Lecture Content Day 1 & 2:
• Principles of Occlusion.
• Correlation and clinical importance of TMJ, tooth morphology and mandibular movements.
• Jaw positions and Vertical Dimension of Occlusion.
• Factors of growth and development that affect vertical dimension of occlusion.
• Changing the vertical dimension. When, why and how?
• Mandibular movements, registration records and articulator settings.
• Contemporary Occlusal Schemes and Therapeutic Occlusion.
• Occlusal Equilibration.
• Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD)
• Types of Splints and their clinical use.
• The importance of sleep. Why do we sleep and what a dentist should know?
• Causes and consequences of sleep deficiency.
• The intersection of occlusion, TMD and sleep disorders.
• Snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea. How a dentist can help?
• Medical consequences of sleep apnoea.
• Patient screening and evaluation for TMD and sleep disorders.
• Sleep bruxism. A paradigm shift at that old “dental” problem.
• Objective diagnosis of bruxism and sleep disorders.
• Oral appliances for management of TMD, snoring, and sleep apnoea.
• Oral appliance titration and follow up. Side effects and their management.
• Practice management for TMD and sleep apnoea.