Lieutenant Colonel Scott Williams, MD

Tell us about yourself.

Firstly, I wanted to thank DSP for inviting me to be part of the editorial board. I am an active duty Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army and am currently serving as the director for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). Originally trained in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, I went on to complete a sleep disorders fellowship at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in Bethesda, Maryland. I have served in a variety of leadership roles in the Army, ranging from the Chief of Sleep Medicine at both WRNMMC and Womack Army Medical Center to Director of Medicine at the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital. I enjoy teaching both junior physicians and our support staff about the fascinating advances in sleep medicine, and previously chaired the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s Education committee. I also have an interest in advocacy efforts and work with the Sleep Research Society to ensure that the voices of patients, clinicians, and researchers are heard. Our current research work at WRAIR focuses on the impact of sleep deprivation in the military, and ways to optimize performance even when it is not possible to get a full night’s sleep.

With your background in internal medicine, how did you learn so much about how dentists work in their clinic?

Throughout my time in sleep medicine, I have worked closely with Dental Sleep Medicine professionals and have treated hundreds of active duty servicemembers with mandibular advancement devices, because they are so effective and easily portable for those sleeping in austere conditions. I am passionate about advancing the cooperative relationship between medical and dental providers and am active in the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine as well as the AASM. I currently serve as the physician liaison to the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (so you can blame me for any of the difficult board exam questions!).

How do you see the future of dentist-physician collaboration going as communications improve?

Having given multiple talks at both professional societies’ annual meetings and having worked on numerous task forces, I see a bright future for the dentist-physician relationship so long as individuals are willing to continually communicate and share best practices with each other. Increased multi-disciplinary research is also extremely important, because it improves the quality of care in both the dental and medical settings. As with any healthcare specialty, there are many challenges, but by combining efforts, I see this as the best chance to improve patient outcomes and decrease morbidity. I can be reached at scottwilliams1978@
yahoo.com.