The “3rd International Dental Sleep Medicine Congress in La Frontera” was successfully held with high attendance at the Universidad de La Frontera, together with the “I Congress on Regenerative and Minimally Invasive Medicine in TMD,” organized by the Specialty in Temporomandibular Disorders (TTM) and Orofacial Pain (DOF) at the institution.
Over three consecutive days, 27 prominent national and international speakers shared their experience, knowledge, and advances in the areas of dental sleep medicine and regenerative and minimally invasive medicine in temporomandibular disorders, through 16 conferences and 6 workshops.
From abroad, renowned speakers and experts from different areas of health participated. Dentists Antonio Romero, José Manuel Torres, and Rosana Cid-Verdejo, from Spain; Musmé Soto and Alma Luna, from Mexico; Joseph R. Cohen, from the United States; Joao Ferreira, from Portugal; Jairo Roa, from Colombia; and Ricardo Tesch, from Brazil attended, along with surgeon Jacinto Fernández and stomatology specialist Francisco Javier Hidalgo, both from Spain.
From Chile participated dentists, specialists and experts Thomas Bornhardt, Carlos Gaete, Daniel Jerez, Hugo Landaeta, Andrés Rosa, Vicente Wielandt, Camila Cerda, Verónica Iturriaga, Sylvia Osorio, and Nicol Velásquez; along with Alberto Landaida (Otolaryngologist), Francisca Alcayaga (Veterinary Surgeon), Jimena Cuenca (Biochemist), Erika Quintanilla (Psychiatrist and Sleep Specialist), Sandra Sacks (Psychologist), and Catalina Torres (Neurologist and Sleep Specialist).
The professionals addressed topics such as “Maxillary Dysfunction in Growing Patients with Sleep-Disordered Breathing,” “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Sleep Medicine,” “Minimally Invasive Therapies in TMJ Arthroscopy,” “Mood, Anxiety and Sleep,” “Sleep Medicine and Lifestyle,” and “Paradigm Shift in Regenerative Medicine for the Treatment of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain,” among others.
DENTAL SLEEP MEDICINE
Different areas of health that came together around two emerging fields where interdisciplinary work is fundamental. For this reason, the Dental Sleep Medicine Congress not only featured the participation of dental speaker conferences—through the different dental specialties that can contribute to the management of sleep disorders, but also with specialists from other areas of health.
Dr. Verónica Iturriaga, director of the specialty and president of the congress, explained: “Dental Sleep Medicine is an area of Sleep Medicine and encompasses mainly the diseases that can occur while one sleeps and that affect wakefulness. If one sleeps poorly, we will consequently have poor wakefulness. Therefore, it is very important to be able to detect these diseases that could be, for example, a sleep-disordered breathing, insomnia, phase delays or phase advances; essentially the different pathologies we can find in sleep and that are more than 60 according to the international classification. From Dentistry, we can help not only to detect and diagnose but also to provide solutions to these diseases, mainly in sleep-disordered breathing.”
According to Dr. Catalina Torres, neurologist, specialist in Sleep Medicine and vice president of the Chilean Society of Sleep Medicine, “sleep is a fundamental pillar of people’s well-being. We cannot be healthy if we don’t sleep well, and sleeping poorly or little gives us more risk of dying, more risk of heart attacks, more metabolic risk, more risk of cancer; there is almost no function that sleep does not regulate. Therefore, more than ever we must be concerned about not having sleep diseases and take care of our sleep habits.”
In this context, the specialist recommends maintaining stable schedules when waking up to keep the biological clock synchronized, receiving plenty of light in the morning, avoiding screen use at night, not consuming caffeine in the afternoon, doing physical activity regularly, having moments of pause, learning to manage stress, and consulting with specialists for any symptoms.
