University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry is proud to offer a specialized Dental Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program within our esteemed Orthodontic Department. This program is designed to prepare orthodontists for excellence in the field of sleep medicine.

Based at the Department of Orthodontics, the Dental Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program aims to provide superior patient care, robust teaching, innovative clinical research and extensive clinical exposure to dental sleep medicine. Our collaboration and integration with Stanford’s sleep medicine program and the San Francisco VA Hospital’s sleep surgery program ensure a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach.

The Dental Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program provides an in-depth curriculum that integrates theoretical knowledge with practical clinical experience. Fellows will gain hands-on training in the latest diagnostic and therapeutic techniques for managing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and other sleep disorders using dental appliances and orthodontic interventions.

A Fellowship that Bridges Multiple Disciplines

Fellows will learn how to approach interdisciplinarity through didactics and patient care in the Dugoni School’s Dental Sleep Medicine Clinic and rotations in the pulmonary, psychiatry, sleep laboratory and ENT departments at Stanford Health Care, and sleep clinic and surgery at the San Francisco VA hospital. The Stanford portion of the rotations will take place at the North Campus (Sleep Medicine and Sleep Surgery Clinics) and the Main Campus (Lane Operating Rooms). 

Fellows will participate in screening, treatment planning and managing both surgical and non-surgical cases. For non-surgical cases, sleep orthodontic fellows will select, fit and adjust oral devices and implement protocols for short- and long-term follow-up. For surgical cases, the orthodontic fellows will perform pre-surgical orthodontics, virtual surgical planning, and post-surgical orthodontics with the surgical team. The fellows will be provided rigorous, diverse and rewarding multidisciplinary clinical training.

Dugoni School Rotation
Dental Sleep Medicine Clinic

During their regular clinic schedule, fellows will perform clinical history intake and examination; documentation of face-to-face follow-up appointments in a SOAP format (subjective, objective, assessment, and plan of care) will be part of the medical record documentation. The attending faculty will supervise all trainee activities during these clinical sessions, and teaching will occur utilizing a patient-centered interdisciplinary approach.

in clinic

Clinical Focus

  • Oral appliance therapy (mandibular advancement devices (MADs)
  • Orthodontic growth modification for growing patients with sleep-disordered breathing
  • Rapid palatal expansion, mini-screw assisted rapid palatal expansion (MARPE)
  • Surgical orthodontics
  • Maxillomandibular advancement orthodontic set-up
  • Distraction osteogenesis maxillary expansion (DOME)

 

Stanford Sleep Center
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford Rotation

Residents will get to work with top faculty of the sleep medicine and sleep surgery departments in the world-class facilities at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.

Stanford Sleep Medicine is a division under the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science that takes eight fellows a year. The Stanford Sleep Medicine Center was the first fellowship program accredited by the American Sleep Disorders Association and is considered the world's leading training program for sleep disorders medicine. The sleep medicine fellows come from a variety of medical fields, including internal medicine, neurology, psychiatry, pediatrics, otolaryngology, family medicine, and anesthesia.  

The fellows will gain broad exposure to sleep medicine and valuable experience in working with sleep medicine fellows and faculty at the Stanford sleep medicine clinic. They will experience polysomnographic technology and learn how to read and interpret polysomnography. Dr. Rafel Pelayo will be supervising the fellows during this phase of the program. 

In addition, fellows will evaluate treatment plans and deliver dental treatment for sleep disorder patients at the dental sleep medicine clinic at Stanford. Dr. Audrey Yoon, who is a faculty at both Stanford and the Dugoni School, will be supervising the fellows. The fellows will gain experience in reading and interpreting diagnostic sleep studies, understanding growth and development, treatment planning for patients with sleep-disordered breathing, understanding the use and limitations of home sleep apnea tests (HSAT) during oral appliance titration, and recognizing the potential limitations and complications of treatment. 

San Francisco VA Sleep Team

SF VA Sleep Team is at the forefront of providing exceptional care for our nation's veterans with sleep disorders, managing over 9,000 consult requests annually. The team of sleep-trained physicians, surgeons, and dentists boasts over 30 years of collective experience and has been recognized with honors and awards for their commitment to high-quality care, leadership, and innovation in the field. 


 

VA San Francisco

The San Francisco VA sleep team works closely with mental health providers, otolaryngologists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, dentists, neurologists, nutritionists and cardiologists to ensure comprehensive evaluation and care management. 

Dr. Rishi Jay Gupta, Section Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, has been instrumental in co-developing a collaborative multi-disciplinary sleep management program at SFVA which has grown to include Northern California, Nevada, Hawaii, and Pacific Islands. He now leads the surgical and dental components at VISN 21 (regional sites), driving innovation and excellence in the field. 

Under the guidance of Drs. Rishi Jay Gupta and Rebeka Silva, dental sleep medicine fellows actively participate in sleep surgery treatment planning and gain invaluable firsthand experience by observing various sleep surgeries (MMA and if indicated TMJ reconstruction, upper airway stimulation (Inspire), soft tissue procedures (expansion pharyngoplasty, tonsillectomy, nasal procedures, genioglossus advancement). This immersive learning environment not only equips fellows with the necessary skills and insights into sleep surgery but also fosters an interdisciplinary approach to obstructive sleep apnea patient care. 

Fellows have the opportunity to delve into various surgery procedures, gaining hands-on experience and in-depth understanding under the mentorship of experienced practitioners. Additionally, they participate in various learning opportunities, such as case studies and surgical simulations, to enhance their proficiency in dental sleep medicine and surgical interventions.

people gathered around monitor looking at sleep study results
Research

As part of this rigorous program, fellows are encouraged to participate in research activities to explore various issues related to sleep medicine, whether clinical or otherwise. This involvement will help advance the field of dental sleep medicine and contribute to the body of knowledge that supports best practices in patient care. Fellows will have access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources to support their research endeavors.

Collaborative Research Activity

Faculty and fellows from the three programs (Pacific Dental Sleep Medicine Fellowship, Stanford Sleep Medicine, and San Francisco VA Hospital’s Sleep Surgery) will collaborate to conduct high-level sleep research. These collaborative efforts aim to obtain external funding from sources including the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation (AAOF), the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Program Overview

Program Length: 12 months
Tuition: $65,000
Application Deadline: November 15
Contact: Gloria Sue at gsue@duojiwuye.com

Requirements

  • DMD, DDS or BDS degree and a certificate of orthodontics
  • International applicants: TOEFL or IELTS test score
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Personal statement including explanation of interest in this program
  • Transcripts — dental school and orthodontic residency (for international applicants, only evaluations by ECE will be accepted)
  • Two references
  • Complete University of the Pacific application

Applicants may be selected for an initial interview based on these submissions.

Fellows will be enrolled in AADSM’s Mastery I & II program. In addition fellows will be active participants in sleep lecture series, article reviews, research seminars and interdisciplinary case conferences throughout the program. Lectures will be conducted by faculty members and guest speakers on topics relevant to somnology and general and dental sleep medicine. Supplementary reading material will include articles relevant to the fields of somnology, sleep and airway surgery, and general and dental sleep medicine.

  • AADSM’s Mastery I & II program 
  • Dental Sleep Medicine Seminars I, II, and III
  • Clinical Management of Sleep Apnea Patients I, II, and III
  • Overview of TMD and orofacial pain disorders
  • Management of medical compromised patients
  • Human growth and development
  • Sleep Apnea and Snoring - surgical and non-surgical therapy
  • Interdisciplinary complex cases seminars
  • Research methodology
  • Introduction to Biostatistics
  • Epidemiology and Critical Thinking in the Practice of Dentistry

Faculty will continuously evaluate fellows during clinical activities focusing on collaborative patient-centered care, informal assessment of cognitive skills, and teaching discussions. A bimonthly evaluation is done based on the following competencies.

  1. Patient Care:
  •  Perform a thorough medical history and examination
  • Order appropriate diagnostic tests
  • Reading and interpretation of sleep studies
  • Develop a clinical assessment and treatment plan; establish short and long term follow up care
  • Interact with other health care providers
  1. General Knowledge:
  • Access and critically evaluate current medical information and scientific evidence relevant to sleep medicine and dental sleep medicine.
  1. Practice-Based Learning and Improvement:
  • Identify and acknowledge gaps in personal knowledge and skills
  • Clinical case presentations
  • Presentation during articles reviews
  • Participation in research projects and publications.
  1. Interpersonal Skills and Communication:
  • Communicate effectively with patients
  • Communicate effectively with sleep physicians, sleep surgeons and other health care professionals
  • Presentations in clinical case conferences.
  1. Professionalism:
  • Carry out professional responsibilities and adhere to ethical principles
  • Complete assigned duties, which includes clinical record documentation
  • Attend required conferences
  • Adhere to the principles of good clinical practice and patient safety
  • Behave professionally towards patients, families, colleagues, and all members of the health care team.

The process to become board certified in dental sleep medicine is managed through the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (ABDSM). Fellows will be encouraged to take the board examination and will be guided during the application process. Emphasis is placed upon training the fellow to the standards for board certification.

Meet Our Team

Sleep Clinic Faculty

Assistant Professor, Department of Orthodontics
University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry

Clinical Professor, Division of Sleep Medicine
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
Stanford University

Section Chief, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
VISN 21 Sleep Surgical and Dental Director
Staff Oral Surgeon, VA San Francisco Health Care

Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry

Chief, Dental Service
Staff Oral Surgeon, VA San Francisco Health Care
Clinical Professor of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, UCSF

Dental Sleep Medicine Fellows

Contact Us

SF campus
Dugoni Academic Programs
415.929.6556

155 Fifth St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

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