Psychological Approaches for Improving OAT Outcome

Psychological Approaches for Improving OAT Outcomes

Presented by: Ian Boggero, PhD
Moderated by: Tanya DeSanto, DDS

Thursday, November 20, 2025
7pm-8pm ET (6pm-7pm CT/5pm-6pm MT/4pm-5pm PT)
Expected Duration and CE credit(s): Up to 1.0 hour

Register


This webinar will explore how dentists employing OAT to manage SRBDs often face comorbidities such as insomnia and orofacial pain. This practical webinar explores a health psychologists’ vital role in the treatment of sleep disorders and chronic pain. The session will also cover behavioral techniques that enhance patient adherence to treatments such as CPAP and oral appliance therapy (OAT).

Designed with dental professionals in mind, the webinar highlights strategies that non-psychologists can implement in clinical practice and provides clear guidance on when to refer patients to a health psychologist. Participants will also learn about specialized tools used by psychologists and walk away with actionable tips they can immediately apply to support better patient outcomes.


Target Audience
Dentist treating patients with OAT for sleep disordered breathing.

Objectives 
At the conclusion of this webinar, attendees will gain knowledge in:
        · The role of a health psychologist in treating sleep and pain
        · Psychological strategies for improving sleep broadly and with a focus on insomnia. 
        · Psychological techniques that improve or support other treatments such as CPAP and OAT adherence. 
        · Strategies or techniques that non-psychologist (dentists) may employ.
        · When to refer and resources for finding appropriately trained psychologists. 
        · Specialized tools employed by health psychologists.
        · Pearls for next day implementation. 
 



 

Dr. Boggero is the Director of Psychological Services and Director of Research at the University of Kentucky Orofacial Pain Clinic. He completed his undergraduate education at UCLA and obtained his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Kentucky, with a graduate certificate in biostatistics. He did a clinical internship at the Lexington VA and after his Ph.D. he completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center where he worked with children and families with chronic pain. A practicing clinical psychologist, Dr. Boggero's research interests are in developing brief psychological interventions for improving pain, sleep, and fatigue in patients with chronic pain. He has over 100 combined publications/presentations and over 2,000 citations, and has been invited to give talks across the country and the world on psychological management of chronic orofacial pain.  Currently, he is conducting an NIH-funded randomized clinical trial to test brief psychological interventions for chronic masticatory muscle pain. He is also the chair of the Research Committee of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain and a board member of the Kentucky Psychological Association.  In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family, playing soccer, hiking, cooking, reading, and playing chess online.
 

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

  • Dr. Boggero is currently the chair of the Reserach Committee of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain. This does not relate to the proposed webinar and will not influence the content of the webinar in any way.

Back to main webinar page