In fact, when the associate professor of restorative dentistry became director of the College of Dentistry’s dental sleep medicine clinic in 2014, he asked if he could experience an overnight sleep study at the Misericordia Health Centre.

That meant voluntarily hitting the pillow with electrodes stuck to his scalp, face, chest and legs, a tube invading his nose, and various other wires monitoring his system.

“I thought I should see what it’s like for patients,” says the affable Brazilian-born dentist, who practised and taught in Toronto for more than 30 years before joining the U of M faculty six years ago.

One of the key problems diagnosed by sleep studies is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The breathing disorder is characterized by loud snoring, frequent waking with a choking sensation, and excessive daytime sleepiness. Left untreated, OSA can lead to serious health problems, such as cardiovascular disease.

“The role of the dentist is becoming quite important in identifying patients at risk for OSA,” says Todescan, head of the college’s division of temporomandibular disorders (TMD), orofacial pain and sleep apnea.

“General dentists should know what questions to ask about symptoms like snoring. They should be aware of apnea risk factors, such as obesity, large neck size and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Our curriculum is ensuring that students have that knowledge.”

Today and Saturday, Todescan is assisting as the college’s continuing professional development program delivers its first master class in dental management of snoring and OSA for Manitoba dentists. Experts from the U.S.-based Sleep Group Solutions are giving the course.

The U of M is an educational leader in the field. Todescan believes the College of Dentistry clinic, which opened in 2012, is the only one for sleep breathing disorders at a Canadian dental college.

He supervises third- and fourth-year students as they rotate through the busy Wednesday-morning clinic, seeing patients who have been medically diagnosed with sleep apnea. The clinic is a model for interprofessional collaboration and learning, a strategic priority of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. Since last year, physician sleep fellows from the Misericordia have been coming to the clinic to work with Todescan and the students.

The gold standard for OSA treatment is a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to keep the patient’s airway open during sleep. However, Todescan says, many people can’t tolerate the bedside machine because they find the mask and tubing too uncomfortable.

That’s where dentists come in. They can custom-fabricate a mandibular advancement device (MAD) – a kind of mouth guard to be worn at night.

“The idea is to bring the jaw slightly forward to open the airway,” Todescan says. “From the literature, it’s very effective for snoring, and for mild to moderate apnea. It’s not really indicated for severe apnea, but patients who are unable to use the CPAP can try it.”

Todescan has seen life-changing improvement in some patients with a MAD. Unfortunately, the appliances can be expensive and, unlike the CPAP, are currently not covered by Manitoba Health. Private benefit plans vary in their coverage.

For Todescan, the bottom line is that dentists need to do detective work when it comes to patients’ sleep. Nighttime bruxism (grinding), for example, needs more attention than the automatic fabrication of a night guard to protect teeth.

“We now call it ‘sleep bruxism,’ because we know it’s a sleep disorder,” he says. “Before you prescribe a night guard, you should look at the breathing aspect. You have to look carefully and see what’s going on.”

CPD-Dentistry/Dental Hygiene was selected as a recipient of the 2015 Royal College Accredited CPD Provider Innovation Award.

The program was selected for this prestigious honour based on the Oral-Systemic Health Day Interprofessional Education event held in February 2014 at the university. This successful event included 200 physicians, dentists, dental hygienists, nurses and others in a format that combined group learning, interprofessional case-based discussion and skills training. Supported by staff from the entire Division of CPD in the College of Medicine, it now serves as a model for other Royal College-accredited CPD Programs. (Read more here).

L-R: Dr. Jeff Sisler; Tanya Walsh; and Casey Hein receive the 2015 Royal College Accredited CPD Provider Innovation Award.

CPD-Medicine and Dr. Ryan Zarychanski of the Section of Hematology/Medical Oncology and his partners at UPCON at CancerCare Manitoba were presented with the 2015 CFPC Continuing Professional Development Program Award for  Blood Day for Primary Care Providers. This national prize is bestowed upon an educational program that has provided an exceptional learning experience to practicing or practice-eligible CFPC members.

Dr. Ryan Zarychanski (right) is presented with the 2015 CFPC Continuing Professional Development Program Award for Blood Day for Primary Care Providers.

CPD-Dentistry/Dental Hygiene was selected for this prestigious honour based on the Oral-Systemic Health Day Interprofessional Education event held in February 2014 at the U of M. This successful event included 200 physicians, dentists, dental hygienists, nurses and others in a format that combined group learning, interprofessional case-based discussion and skills training. Supported by staff from the entire Division of CPD in the College of Medicine, it now serves as a model for other Royal College-accredited CPD Programs.

“Our group is deeply humbled by this honour. It is truly a testament to the dedication, expertise, and passion the U of M’s CPD-Dentistry team has for the advancement of world-class interprofessional education curriculum development,” says Casey Hein, the Director of Education, Continuing Interprofessional Development.

The award positions CPD-Dentistry/Dental Hygiene as a leader in Interprofessional Education (IPE) curriculum innovation. It was also recently named the winner of the 2015 William J. Gies Award for Outstanding Innovation – Academic Dental Institution for the team’s work in creating the Oral-Systemic Health Education for Non-dental Healthcare Providers curriculum which formed the basis for this IPE event. The Gies Award is offered by the Gies Foundation, an arm of the American Dental Education Association.

As part of this Royal College award, the CPD-Dentistry/Dental Hygiene team has been invited to present its groundbreaking work at the 7th National CPD Accreditation Conference on September 28-29, 2015 in Ottawa, where the award will be formally presented to Ms. Hein, and Dr. Jeff Sisler, Vice-Dean, Continuing Competency and Assessment, Faculty of Health Sciences, by the Royal College.

In an attempt to spearhead medical interprofessional solutions to the obesity epidemic, the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Division of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is hosting Obesity Intervention for Front-line Healthcare Providers Friday, May 1 at the U of M’s Bannatyne Campus.

During the two-session program, leaders from local professional communities (ranging from disciplines such as dental hygiene, human ecology, kinesiology, medicine, pharmacy and physiotherapy) will present their experiences with caring for obese patients, and offer ideas on how obesity intervention can be incorporated into everyday patient care. In roundtable discussions, participants will be challenged to consider specific cases and how inter-disciplinary teams can work together to more optimally intervene in the lives of those who are obese.

Participants will also learn how to determine patients’ motivation and readiness for life style modification to achieve healthy weight, and how to provide guidance in the form of simple steps, to effective weight loss.

Given the ramifications of increasing obesity rates on the healthcare system, Casey Hein, Director of Education, Continuing Interprofessional Development, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, says front-line healthcare professionals are at a crucial juncture in obesity intervention with their patients.

“We have an unprecedented opportunity to change the lives of many obese patients we see everyday. However, the majority of healthcare providers feel uncomfortable talking about obesity with patients, we lack training in weight-loss counseling, we don’t know how to start the conversation, we’re afraid of offending patients, or we don’t know how to efficiently incorporate obesity prevention and intervention into the daily routine of our busy practices.”

The event is a part of CPD Medicine’s popular Friday at the University, an accredited program for primary care professionals.

“I really feel like I’ve won the lottery,” said Lim who will soon be practicing family medicine in Garden Hill, MB – a fly-in First Nations community in the northeast corner of the province.

Lim, along with 19 others, are the most recent graduates of the University Of Manitoba College Of Medicine’s Medical Licensure Program for International Medical Graduates (MLPIMG) program. The program is designed so doctors trained in medical schools outside Canada can practice in Manitoba. Upon completion of the one-year program, graduates are placed in family medicine residencies in rural and underserviced areas of the province for a period of four years. This year’s crop of graduates will be placed in such communities as Ashern, Killarney, Swan River and Thompson, MB.

The IMG Program began in 2002 and has had 350 graduates who have practiced family medicine in rural and remote communities within Manitoba.

“We are extremely proud of this group of IMGs and trust they will serve their new communities with care, compassion and professionalism,” said Dr. Martina Reslerova, Director, IMG Programs, College of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences.

The IMGs spend the year training and developing their skills in 13 four-week postgraduate medical education rotations. Lim said her training was quite diverse: she spent time in bigger hospitals such as Health Science Centre, and in smaller ones in places such as Altona and Carmen, MB.

“The program prepares you to practice medicine anywhere in Canada,” says Lim.

Lim immigrated to Canada from the Philippines with her husband in 2008. They settled in Toronto where she worked in a family clinic and sleep lab as a clinician assistant. The dream of practicing medicine in Canada, she says, is what kept her motivated to pursue acceptance into the IMG program.

“I’ve always had a passion for medicine for helping people,” said Lim. “The IMG program is world class and receives lots of applicants. But I never lost sight,” said Lim. “If you have the passion and the support system around you, you can do anything.”

Lim applied twice to the IMG program, gaining entry on her second attempt. For other IMGs looking to practice medicine in Canada, Lim said that persistence and dedication are essential components.

“If you really want something and you’re passionate about it, it will happen for you. Passion gives you strength.”