GAP Magazine Clear Idea Volume 5

22 www.acasociety.com | info@acasociety.com as much as I expected”. The other benefit is that patients will normally be more open to ask staff things they wouldn›t necessarily ask their clinicians such as “is it hard to kiss with it on?” or “can you still go to parties?”. 6. Social media Social Media is one of the most powerful advertising platforms around, in the dental industry it is especially useful for aesthetic dental treatments (including aligners). I have found that engaging with patients through Instagram is a great way to start building rapport with patients prior to having them visit you in the clinic. There is a fine line between marketing yourself primarily to other dentists by just showing off clinical cases and developing a personal brand through social media engagement with potential patients. By establishing a personal brand you are able to help patients become more comfortable with you and the type of work you do. In addition to the marketing value social media can add, it can also be a great tool for patient education. Through engaging directly with patients, posting education videos about oral health, aligner hacks, and information about what to expect when patients come to see you in your clinic you can further add value to existing patients and potential patients. to open wide and stick out their tongue as far as they can, then simply record their Mallampati score and Tonsil Grade. 4. Jaw deviations or deflections If the jaw swings off to one side when we open/close our mouth, this can be a sign of either disc displacement, imbalanced muscle tonicity, or both. Deviation is when the jaw swings off to one side, then back to the centre. We often see jaw deviation in patients with TMJ clicking. The jaw normally deviates to the same side as the TMJ click (e.g. RHS TMJ click will have RHS jaw deviation). Deflection is when the jaw swings off to one side, but does NOT return to the centre. Often the patient will also have limited mouth opening, and may report a history of TMJ clicking that disappeared. Jaw deflection is commonly seen in patients with a closed lock (anterior disc displacement without reduction.) Similarly to deviation, the jaw deflects to the side where the disc is anteriorly displaced (e.g. RHS deflection means RHS TMJ disc is anteriorly displaced without reduction). If you’re interested to learn more about TMD and dental sleep medicine, you can join Dr Damian Teo for a TMD and sleep workshop at ACAS 2021 in December. You can also find more content on Dr Teo’s Facebook Group “Sleep And TMJ Study Club” and his upcoming TMD & Sleep Mini Residency in Melbourne at www.sleeptmjstudyclub.com.au Deviation Deflection TMD and dental sleep medicine Continued from page 20 TIPS for getting started with clear aligners in your practice Continued from page 19