For Referring Doctors
Information for dentists, physicians, neurologists, ENT surgeons and physical therapists considering a referral. The short version: we take diagnostic and conservative management of temporomandibular disorders, orofacial pain and dental sleep medicine, we do not take over your patient's other care, and you get a written summary.
Referrals we are well placed to take
Temporomandibular disorders that have not responded to initial conservative management. Facial pain without an identified dental cause, including cases where dental treatment has already failed to relieve it. Suspected myofascial pain with referral patterns mimicking odontogenic pain. Diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea in a patient intolerant of positive airway pressure. Suspected sleep-disordered breathing needing help toward testing. Bruxism with an unexplained or suspected airway component. Bite changes of uncertain origin, including suspected condylar resorption.
What is outside our scope
Stated plainly so referrals land in the right place. We do not diagnose obstructive sleep apnea — that is a physician's determination from a sleep study, though we assist patients toward testing. We do not manage primary headache disorders, prescribe for trigeminal neuralgia, treat periodontal disease, or perform nasal or airway surgery. Where a referred patient turns out to need any of those, they are directed appropriately with a note rather than treated at the edge of scope.
What you receive back
A written summary after assessment covering the working diagnosis and the reasoning behind it, the findings that support it including range of motion and palpation, the proposed plan and its sequence, and anything identified that falls to you or another clinician. Where treatment proceeds you receive an outcome summary. For sleep cases, objective confirmation of appliance effectiveness is arranged through the referring or treating physician, since a repeat sleep test with the device in place is what establishes the apnea is actually controlled.
Useful information to send
Whatever you already hold: relevant radiographs or CBCT, any prior MRI of the joints, sleep study reports including the supine and non-supine indices, a medication list, and a short note on what has already been tried and how the patient responded. The last of those is disproportionately useful — knowing that a particular appliance design or a course of physical therapy failed narrows the picture considerably and avoids repeating it.
Common questions
- Will you take over my patient's dental care?
- No. This is a focused practice and routine dentistry stays with you. Where restorative work follows stabilisation, that can be done by you with a plan and records provided, or here, according to what the patient and you prefer.
- Can you see a patient before they have had a sleep study?
- Yes, for assessment and to help arrange testing. Treatment for sleep apnea follows a physician's diagnosis. Snoring without diagnosed apnea can often be addressed sooner.
- How quickly are referrals seen?
- Initial consultations are virtual, which usually means they can be arranged promptly. If a referral is urgent — an acute open lock, or suspected condylar resorption with a changing bite — say so in the referral and it will be prioritised.
Not sure where to start?
Request a virtual consultation with Dr. Samadian. In-person visits are by appointment in New York.
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