Ep.86, No More Dead Ends: Building the Collaborative Airway Healthcare Team, Dr. Pedro Cuartas

In this episode of the ASAP Pathway Podcast, Dr. Stacy sits down with Dr. Pedro Cuartas, founder of the Collaborative Airway Management Summit (CAMS) and Clinical Director of South Louisiana Dental Sleep Medicine, for a conversation about what may be one of the biggest missing pieces in airway healthcare: collaboration.With so many patients still undiagnosed, how do we actually make a meaningful dent?The answer, he believes, isn't simply more education. Knowledge without implementation doesn't change patient care.Dr. Stacy and Pedro discuss why physicians, dentists, ENTs, nurse practitioners, PAs, sleep specialists and other healthcare providers need practical systems for screening, referral, treatment and—perhaps most importantly—communication.They also explore why sleep apnea treatment doesn't have to be an either/or decision. CPAP, oral appliance therapy, Inspire, weight management, positional therapy, lifestyle changes and other approaches may sometimes work together as combination therapy, creating a treatment plan built around the individual patient rather than forcing the patient into a single treatment box.The conversation expands into women and children who may be missed by traditional sleep apnea metrics, hormonal changes and midlife sleep, pediatric airway intervention, weight and craniofacial risk factors, and the importance of looking backward in a patient's story to understand how they arrived at their current health.Pedro also shares the vision behind CAMS: bringing healthcare providers from different disciplines into the same room, allowing them to learn from one another, understand each other's treatment options and ultimately return home equipped to build collaborative airway “ecosystems” in their own communities.Because the goal isn't simply to diagnose sleep apnea.It's to make sure the patient has somewhere to go next.The goal isn’t for one profession to “own” the airway. The goal is to build an ecosystem around the patient where providers communicate. Because when healthcare truly becomes collaborative, the dead ends no longer have to exist.CAMS FB PageCAMS Summit RegistrationDr Pedro Cuartas LinkedInDr Pedro Cuartas’ PracticeCHAPTERS: 📖00:00 Welcome to ASAP Pathway00:50 Meet Dr. Pedro Cuartas03:42 How Pedro Found Dental Sleep Medicine05:07 “What Did You Do to My Patient?”07:10 Why Dental School Historically Missed Airway & Sleep09:00 The 80% Undiagnosed Problem10:00 Knowledge Without Implementation Isn't Enough11:00 The Vision Behind the CAMS Summit14:00 Giving Healthcare Providers a “Now What?”17:00 Why Sleep & Airway Care Still Falls Through the Cracks20:00 Building CAMS: Collaboration Over Competition23:17 Expanding Airway Collaboration Into Midlife Health27:12 Hormones, Sleep & Pedro's Unexpected Midlife Story31:00 Why Every Specialty Belongs in the Airway Conversation40:00 Understanding the Pain Points of Medical Providers44:00 Creating Better Referral & Treatment Pathways47:00 Building Local Airway Healthcare Ecosystems49:20 Why Combination Therapy Matters50:30 A Real Patient Example: CPAP + Oral Appliance + Weight Management52:30 Going Back in the “Airway Time Machine”55:00 Patients May Have to Help Connect Their Providers56:00 Why Continuity of Care Matters58:00 Communication Can Build Better Healthcare Relationships1:01:00 Be Your Own Advocate—Without Becoming the Doctor1:04:02 Who Should Attend CAMS?1:05:42 Three Random Questions With Pedro1:08:07 Closing ThoughtsLEARNINGS: 💡Knowledge needs implementation. Education only changes care when providers know how to screen, refer, treat, and follow up.Dentistry belongs in the airway conversation. Dentists are uniquely positioned to recognize signs of sleep-disordered breathing and help connect patients to care.No more dead ends. A diagnosis should lead to a clear next step—not leave patients wondering where to go or what to do.Sleep treatment isn’t one-size-fits-all. CPAP, oral appliances, Inspire, weight management, positional therapy, and other options can sometimes be used together.Collaboration improves c