Could OAT Save INSPIRE?

With an almost 200–point drop in stock price in the past 6 months, could Inspire be on the ropes?

Could dual therapy be an answer?

And if so, could that be a positive or a negative for dental sleep medicine?

That all depends on who will provide the OAT.  While it might be a dentist, we are increasingly hearing of ENT offices that are making appliances.

I point this out because prevention is easier than intervention.  And the current situationpresents an opportunity.

We know that the management of OAT requires close supervision and patient compliance in order to prevent adverse effects such as bite changes, open contacts and TMJ symptoms.

We recently saw how Smile Direct Club declared bankruptcy, partially because of the lawsuits resulting from unsupervised therapy and the significant competition from other Direct to Consumer (D2C) systems.

Inspire has invested a great deal of money into marketing and hiring reps.  They have a vested interest in assuring their product survives and their patients are happy.  As an aside, I think their marketing is fantastic; “No Mask, No Hose, Just Sleep”.  Misleading perhaps, but fantastic, as so many people see all the advantages and never know the real procedure and it’s limitations.

There are 2 opportunities.

As with CPAP, one of the challenges few doctors talk about is nightly bathroom visits.  With CPAP, it has to be removed (and often not put back on).  With Inspire, it has to be turned off and then turned back on, a challenge in the middle of the night.

Great News!  Oral Appliances don’t have to be removed to go pee.

If you already have an existing ENT that does Inspire, schedule a meeting (dinner) to discuss how to use OAT to help make Inspire even more successful.

When contacting an Inspire rep, promote the use of OAT in making the process in the ENT’s practice more predictable.

Should you know of an ENT practice that is performing OAT, the strategy is simple.  Try to set up a meeting with either the Doc or better yet, the assistant who is making the appliances and discuss how you can help them deal with the potential complications.

Not only are you offering your assistance, but subliminally you’re scaring them about the potential for significant side-effects that they will not be able to, nor want to deal with.

Effective marketing is knowing the answers to the above, in the right order.  Too often, we see both marketers and practice focus on the “what” or “where”, when in actuality those are the 3rd and 5th steps respectively.

WHY?  There’s an opportunity to collaborate and help people.

WHO?  With ENT’s and Inspire Reps

WHAT?  Collaborative, hybrid care.

WHEN?  TBD based on response.

WHERE?  TBD (dinner, office etc.)

I’ll be discussing the use of marketing and INFLUENCE in order to help more people during SSC Live this Friday and Saturday at Glidewell in Newport Beach, Ca.  I hope to see you there.

To seizing the opportunity,

Michael