1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:21,800 Hi everyone and welcome back to Airway First, a podcast from the Children's Airway First 2 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:22,800 Foundation. 3 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,800 I'm your host, Rebecca St. James. 4 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,240 My guest today is Renata Namey. 5 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:36,200 A registered dental hygienist and oral-facial myofunctional therapist in Savannah, Georgia. 6 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:43,080 Renata owns Myo Movers, a practice focused on treating myofunctional disorders in children 7 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:45,400 and in adults. 8 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:49,680 She is also the founder of the Airway Circle. 9 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:54,480 She founded the Airway Circle with the intention of gathering all health professionals who share 10 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,080 the same passion for giving. 11 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:01,960 You can find out more about Renata at airwaycircle.com. 12 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:07,080 And now let's jump into my interview with Renata Namey. 13 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:08,800 Okay, great. 14 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:10,400 Thanks so much for joining us today. 15 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:12,320 I really appreciate it. 16 00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:13,320 Thank you for having me. 17 00:01:13,320 --> 00:01:14,320 Absolutely. 18 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:17,840 It's wonderful to finally connect. 19 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:25,800 So before we dig in, I'd really like to start with, I guess, a couple of things first. 20 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:32,040 I know that you are a dental hygienist and oral-facial myofunctional therapist. 21 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:37,240 It's very hard to say for me all at once. 22 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:39,040 Which gives you an incredibly unique perspective. 23 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:44,280 One, you know, we really thought parents and medical professionals would like to hear. 24 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:49,560 So one thing that I have heard you say before, I can't remember. 25 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:51,840 I think it was an interview or a podcast. 26 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:59,040 But if you can't breathe well at night, you're just not going to sleep well. 27 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:03,640 And for somebody that really hasn't heard that before, that would be a great place for 28 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:04,760 us to start. 29 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:09,920 So for parents especially, what does that mean? 30 00:02:09,920 --> 00:02:11,400 What is that impact? 31 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,360 How do the two correlate? 32 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:14,520 Perfectly. 33 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:22,160 So during the day, we go through our parasympathetic and sympathetic system. 34 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:25,600 That means fight or flight or rest and digest. 35 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:29,640 We're always switching between the two depending on what kind of events are going on in our 36 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:30,640 lives. 37 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:31,640 Right? 38 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:35,160 So if you're running from a bear, your fight or flight is going to turn on. 39 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:40,680 So heart rate goes up, blood pressure goes up so you can run. 40 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:47,160 And right after a meal, usually your parasympathetic system turns on, which is rest and digest. 41 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:51,520 Where all of those systems in your body are working with those functions that need to be 42 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:52,520 done at that time. 43 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,920 So usually you're relaxed, you're calm, your heart rate is low, your blood pressure is 44 00:02:56,920 --> 00:02:58,560 low. 45 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,680 At night time, your parasympathetic is supposed to be on. 46 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:04,520 So rest, right? 47 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:05,520 You're resting. 48 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:09,320 So you breathe in through your nose and you breathe out through your nose. 49 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:11,600 Things calm and like that. 50 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:15,200 All of the magic things that are supposed to happen at night time can happen. 51 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:22,000 All of these amazing hormone releases, you go into every single sleep stage. 52 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:27,920 Each one of those stages are very important for overall being and for you to get, you 53 00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:32,080 know, for you to getting healing sleep. 54 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:36,640 So if you cannot breathe well, your body is under stress. 55 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:42,120 If there's any type of obstruction, if your tongue is falling in the back of your airway, 56 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:47,000 if you cannot breathe through your nose because you're sick and it's stuffed up, your body 57 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,160 is going to go and survival mechanism. 58 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,720 What is the first thing you have to do in order to survive? 59 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:55,120 Is to take a breath. 60 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:59,600 So your sympathetic system turns on because now you're under stress and you have to find 61 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:01,560 a way for you to breathe. 62 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:06,880 So instead of you getting healing sleep, your body is just trying to keep you alive. 63 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,320 So your blood pressure is up, your heart rate is up. 64 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:10,640 All of these things are happening. 65 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,080 People start moving around a lot. 66 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:17,200 Kids a lot of times will wet the bed or adults have to get up to go to the bathroom or there's 67 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:19,000 excessive sweating. 68 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:25,080 There's so many things going on because your body is just fighting for your life. 69 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:31,600 So that's the importance of us being able to go into rest and digest and breathe calmly 70 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:34,600 through our nose at nighttime. 71 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:39,160 So for parents that and we hear this a lot, oh, my child's not a mouth breather. 72 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,160 My child's fine. 73 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:47,960 We tell them all the time, maybe, but go listen to your child's sleep at night. 74 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:50,280 You know, it's kind of the stalker thing. 75 00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:51,280 Embrace. 76 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:56,160 We all do it for about right, five, 15 minutes, three times a week. 77 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:57,400 Go and watch him. 78 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,080 Go and listen. 79 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:04,640 What exactly are they looking for when they go in there to do these little check-ins just 80 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:05,640 to see? 81 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:11,440 He has usually a command going in about 90 minutes after the child has fallen asleep because 82 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:15,760 they will give you enough time for a whole sleep cycle to happen. 83 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:23,280 We are looking for head position, so if the head is too elevated or too far back, what 84 00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:27,120 is a child doing in order to be able to breathe at night? 85 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:29,480 We are looking for body movement. 86 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:34,800 So limb movement has to do with low ferritin level, so low iron. 87 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,440 So that would need to be checked out by a doctor. 88 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:43,640 We are looking for some audible breathing or snoring. 89 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:45,520 We're looking for drooling. 90 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:49,400 We're looking for mouth open and tongue low. 91 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:55,680 So there's, you know, a conjunction of things that we are looking for to try to find out 92 00:05:55,680 --> 00:06:04,160 is this child getting enough quality of sleep because you can spend enough time in bed at 93 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:10,040 night, but that does not mean that you're reaching every sleep stage and staying in 94 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:12,200 those sleep stages long enough. 95 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:20,240 So of course, if we see lots of body movement, snoring, gasping for air, things of that nature, 96 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:24,560 we would recommend a sleep study in a lab where we're going to be able to really tell 97 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:27,160 what is going on with that child's sleep. 98 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:28,320 Okay. 99 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:34,520 And if you see these signs and maybe you can't get a sleep study, let's just start with the 100 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:35,520 first step. 101 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:39,960 You go in, you monitor your child, you see these signs. 102 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:43,640 Maybe they even have some additional in the morning, you know, the sheets are just thrashed. 103 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:44,640 They're everywhere. 104 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:46,640 And the child is groggy. 105 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:47,640 They have a headache. 106 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:48,640 Okay. 107 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:50,160 That's a lot of signs. 108 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:51,160 Yes. 109 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:52,160 Where does a parent go? 110 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:53,160 What's the next step? 111 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:57,520 If we, you know, do we just, can we go to a dentist? 112 00:06:57,520 --> 00:06:59,240 Is that the right place to go? 113 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,920 Or do we go straight to the pediatrician? 114 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:08,920 I usually recommend calling a myofunctional therapist first. 115 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:10,600 Why do I do that? 116 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:15,720 Because we are the middle puzzle piece of the interdisciplinary team. 117 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:19,880 A myofunctional therapist is connected with an ENT. 118 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:25,880 She's connected with a dentist, with an orthodontist, with a chiropractor, an occupational therapist, 119 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:27,520 a physical therapist. 120 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:32,640 We kind of have, you know, this whole team that we know who to refer to because we know 121 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:36,640 the ones that are looking at all of these things. 122 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:42,800 Unfortunately, in medical school and in dental school, all this airway stuff is not talked 123 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:43,800 about enough. 124 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:45,600 Tongue ties are not talked about enough. 125 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:49,360 So all these things that we learn outside, it's not in there. 126 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:53,000 So we got to make sure that we go to the right provider. 127 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:54,480 And I will plug in here. 128 00:07:54,480 --> 00:08:02,000 If anybody's looking for a provider around you, we have a free global directory on Airway 129 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:03,000 Circle. 130 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:12,040 So if you go to www.airwaycircle.com, click on directory and you can search by name, by 131 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:13,520 location. 132 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:18,040 You can search by procedure if you're looking for somebody for a phrenectomy or for a type 133 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:19,040 of expansion. 134 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:24,080 You can literally click the things that you'd like and increase the radius and you're going 135 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,120 to see anybody who's around you. 136 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:28,120 That's awesome. 137 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:30,200 We'll make sure we put that in the show notes as well. 138 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:31,200 Thank you. 139 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:37,240 And knowing that it's so important, we always say we don't know what we don't know. 140 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:43,200 We know now, collectively we're learning, we're getting the message out. 141 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:49,240 So with this knowledge, why is it still hygienists aren't taught this? 142 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:53,400 Hygienists aren't given the time, in your opinion, to look for these things. 143 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:58,080 One, they're just so overworked and so busy. 144 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:03,760 There are so many patients out there that just need cleanings and they need regular dental 145 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:04,760 visits. 146 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:05,920 They have to do so much already. 147 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:12,240 I mean, we're learning about oral health or hygiene, houseetry periodontal disease. 148 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:14,760 We are already inundated with all these things. 149 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:18,080 What we are learning now is that hygienists are in the perfect position to go into this 150 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:20,760 because we are inside the mouth every day. 151 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:22,040 We know what times look like. 152 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:26,440 We know which patients are difficult to clean, like little kids are ticklish. 153 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,280 Those are usually kids that don't keep their tongue up. 154 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:33,960 Little kids that have tons of plaque on their teeth, but it doesn't matter every single 155 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:35,560 time they come, they're full of plaque. 156 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:37,280 Most of the kids are tongue tied. 157 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:42,120 Your teeth constantly, all throughout the day. 158 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:46,720 If you cannot reach those areas, you're not going to be able to clean your teeth. 159 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:51,440 So there are so many things that hygienists are the perfect profession to start looking 160 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:53,080 into these. 161 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:58,160 Another reason is of course, dental hygiene training, they would have to develop a whole 162 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:05,560 new program to get these girls or these girls and guys through to be able to start looking 163 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:07,000 at these things. 164 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:11,040 And then the third thing that's a big issue are the boards. 165 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:13,280 Dental boards don't know what to do with this information. 166 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:15,640 They don't know what to do with us. 167 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:21,880 Whenever we take our boards, we are training and proving that we are able to clean teeth, 168 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:27,000 to be inside the mouth, to go underneath the gums, all of these things. 169 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:32,800 But how would they be able to grade us and make sure that we know what we're doing when 170 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:37,000 it comes to malfunction therapy if there's no training in university? 171 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:41,120 So there's still a big, great area. 172 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:48,000 And of course, we are all working so hard and working together to move the field forward. 173 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:51,600 And we are going to get there, I believe, eventually. 174 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:55,000 I don't know how long it's going to take, but I'm here for the ride. 175 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:56,000 Same. 176 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:57,000 Yep. 177 00:10:57,000 --> 00:10:59,480 That's why we're all doing these podcasts and sharing this information. 178 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:03,240 So let's talk about oral habits specifically. 179 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:07,680 This is something we don't talk a lot about on here and probably should, though. 180 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:14,240 Things like thumb sucking and long-stage pacifier use. 181 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:20,320 How are these signs of airway dysfunction or a tongue tie? 182 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:28,680 So we have, we have nutritive sucking and we have non-nutritive sucking. 183 00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:34,640 So babies, when they're first born, they all tend to suck their thumb and they're learning 184 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:39,280 how to swallow that way in the womb, all of them do it and it's normal and it's fine. 185 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:50,840 So after a certain amount of time, if they need to do it, we start looking for other 186 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:51,840 signs. 187 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:55,280 Do they have any type of airway obstruction? 188 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:59,960 Stuff in nose all the time, always sick, difficulty breathing through their nose, enlarged tonsils, 189 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:02,080 enlarged adenoids. 190 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:03,720 What do their teeth look like? 191 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:05,520 Do they have enough room for their teeth? 192 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,760 Do they have an open bite? 193 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:14,840 Those are all reasons if there's a small airway or difficulty breathing through their nose, 194 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:21,720 kids are more likely to need a pacifier or a thumb inside their mouth because that's 195 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:25,840 going to open up the vertical, we call it. 196 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:29,840 Open up the teeth a little bit, which is going to open up the airway and make it easier for 197 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:31,640 them to breathe. 198 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:32,640 Okay. 199 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:41,400 Of course, there are consequences to prolonged thumb sucking or pacifier use and it's just 200 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:48,040 going to keep getting worse and in terms of the teeth moving and causing more malocclusion 201 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:50,640 or crooked teeth. 202 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:54,200 But we have to ask ourselves why first. 203 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:59,480 Is this a child, for example, that eats a lot of dairy? 204 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:04,640 Or is it inflammatory and then they're always sick, they always have secretion, they cannot 205 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,760 breathe well, they have to open their mouth. 206 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,800 We have to figure out what's causing it. 207 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:14,720 But in the beginning, in the early months, it's totally normal for kids to suck their 208 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:15,720 thumb. 209 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,680 We actually do not recommend replacing it with a pacifier. 210 00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:24,520 If they suck their thumb in your breastfeeding, we usually recommend continue breastfeeding 211 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:30,120 on demand and most children will stop thumb sucking on their own. 212 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:31,320 Okay. 213 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:35,400 If they're breastfeeding and they don't have a pacifier. 214 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:38,600 And yes, that's why we say if they're sucking your thumb, just keep it. 215 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:39,600 It's more natural. 216 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:42,120 They already do it in the womb. 217 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,560 Pacifiers, of course, is different shapes. 218 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:50,440 None of them are really great for oral facial development. 219 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:58,960 But if your child needs, well, no, the kids need to suck to calm down and they need it. 220 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:07,120 So if there's no other way, go ahead and let your child have a pacifier, but try to keep 221 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:11,280 it only when they need to calm down or whenever you're putting them to bed. 222 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:13,360 After they fall asleep, they can take it out. 223 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:19,480 So just reducing the amount of time, so the frequency, the intensity and the amount of 224 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:24,200 time that they're having that sucking habit. 225 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:31,480 If we have to go the route or we choose to go the route of a supplemental pacifier, are 226 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:38,000 there better ones like the myelomunchie kind of realm of oral? 227 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:43,280 Yes, we actually recommend a lot of kids who have a pacifier to switch to the myelomunchie, 228 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:47,480 start doing the myelomunchie instead. 229 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:49,640 There are so many pacifiers out there. 230 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:55,320 I think the best one right now is called the nini. 231 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:58,400 Pacifier is very soft. 232 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:02,440 And you can kind of see it whenever the child is sucking on the pacifier. 233 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:05,160 You can see the tongue movement. 234 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:08,200 But the portion that goes inside the mouth, it's very soft. 235 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:10,800 The softest one, I think, out there. 236 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:11,800 It's still not perfect. 237 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:16,360 You know, it is completely round and it kind of blocks the nose a little bit. 238 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:20,120 So it would be ideal if they opened up a little room for the nose. 239 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,120 Hans Nini, if you do that, let me know. 240 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:29,600 I'll make sure we put a link in there for the nini the way it is now. 241 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:30,600 And what's the difference, though? 242 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:37,840 I mean, the myelomunchie, though, my understanding, and maybe you could add to this, be great. 243 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,960 That's soothing, but it also helps with their oral facial growth, right? 244 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:44,920 Because we're all about growing the face out. 245 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:45,920 Exactly. 246 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:50,600 And the way that it helps with soothing a little bit is because they're chewing. 247 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,040 Every time you chew, we're releasing all those feel-good hormones in the brain. 248 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:58,240 Whenever you're sucking, you're also releasing all those feel-good hormones in the brain. 249 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:01,600 So there are different ways that we're soothing the child. 250 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:04,760 But the chewing, so pressure builds bone. 251 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:07,880 The more you chew, the more your face develops. 252 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:12,960 There's a reason why children nowadays are not developing as much as they used to. 253 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,520 And it's because we have changed the way that we feed them, right? 254 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:21,240 After industrialization, we have soft foods, we have pouches, we have baby food, we have, 255 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:25,880 I mean, kids eat mac and cheese, chicken fingers and french fries, peanut butter and jelly. 256 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:29,000 They don't need teeth to eat anymore. 257 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,040 Back in the day, we're giving our kids chicken bones, right? 258 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:33,040 Right. 259 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:34,040 Right. 260 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:35,560 Parents would give the kids whatever they were eating. 261 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:38,520 They wouldn't blend their food and cook it differently. 262 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:39,520 And don't get me wrong. 263 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:43,800 I was extremely proud when I got a baby blender for my firstborn and made all her food at 264 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:44,800 home. 265 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:45,800 Yeah. 266 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:46,920 But now we know better. 267 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:48,440 Kids need to chew. 268 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:53,840 If they have an issue chewing, if they're not chewing properly, if they're choking easily, 269 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:57,800 then of course they need to see a feeding therapist. 270 00:16:57,800 --> 00:16:59,920 But kids need to chew in order for it to grow. 271 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:02,080 So the myomunchie really helps that. 272 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:05,000 The myomunchie also helps with proprioception. 273 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:11,240 So feeling things around in the mouth, if the child always has the tongue low, the tongue 274 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,160 is not used to touching everything, right? 275 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,760 And we need the tongue to touch all the way up there. 276 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:23,040 So the myomunchie usually will help increase that proprioception around the gums and the 277 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:24,040 roof of the mouth. 278 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:29,440 I mean, the tongue will stay in the roof of the mouth, but it will help with the proprioception. 279 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,400 And it's a breathing because you cannot have that in your mouth and breathe through your 280 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:33,400 mouth. 281 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:34,400 Right. 282 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:37,120 It promotes sleep closure. 283 00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:38,120 Okay. 284 00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:41,160 But they don't sleep with it, correct? 285 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:45,040 It's literally, it's soothing, it's chewing, and then take it away. 286 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:48,680 I have not had my patient sleep with it. 287 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:52,680 Some practitioners may recommend that. 288 00:17:52,680 --> 00:18:01,080 And there's also a couple other devices, the myobraise and the healthy start. 289 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:07,680 They as the practitioners, a lot of times will recommend sleeping with those devices. 290 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:08,680 They're a little bit harder. 291 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:11,280 They are not as soft as the myomunchie. 292 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:13,840 And they're more of these growth guidance appliances. 293 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:17,840 They don't, none of these appliances really expanded the patient. 294 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:21,960 They promote the tongue being in the right position. 295 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:23,920 They promote nasal breathing. 296 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:29,240 And with that, we see changes with the occlusion. 297 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:32,360 Also growing the face out again is our goal. 298 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:37,360 Well, growing the face out and sideways, we need to grow in all directions really. 299 00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:38,360 Right. 300 00:18:38,360 --> 00:18:39,360 Just not back. 301 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:40,360 Right. 302 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:41,920 Yeah, that's true. 303 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:48,280 But these, these devices will help you with the nasal breathing and with the chewing in 304 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:49,720 the tongue position. 305 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:53,360 They don't, they do not act like an expansion device. 306 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:57,000 Like if you go to an orthodontist and they put a device under your mouth, you have a 307 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,480 little key to really expand your jaw. 308 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:00,480 It's different. 309 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:04,760 You don't, you know, if somebody is so deficient, they need so much growth. 310 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:08,280 I don't usually recommend going with these devices. 311 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:14,600 These devices are usually for younger children, you know, that you cannot find an orthodontist 312 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:19,600 around you to treat the child yet, but it's correcting habits with myofunctional therapy. 313 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:22,720 Very important to do myofunctional therapy with any of them. 314 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:23,720 Yep. 315 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:25,160 Which is huge. 316 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:43,160 So. 317 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:48,280 You're listening to Airway First with today's guests, Renata Nehme. 318 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,920 You can find out more about the Children's Airway First Foundation and our mission to 319 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:57,600 fix before six on our website at childrensairwayfirst.org. 320 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:03,640 The CAF website offers tons of great resources for both parents and medical professionals. 321 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:09,000 In our parents portal and clinicians corner, you can find educational and informational 322 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:15,920 content, including videos, blogs, our recommended reading list, comprehensive medical research, 323 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:22,080 podcast events, parent support, and educational opportunities. 324 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:26,480 Also encouraged to join the Airway Huddle, our Facebook support group, which was created 325 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,600 for parents of children with airway and sleep-related issues. 326 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:38,200 You can access the Airway Huddle support group at facebook.com backslashgroups backslashairwayhuddle. 327 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:42,680 Are you a medical professional or parent that's interested in being a guest on the show? 328 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:47,480 Then shoot us a note via the contacts page on our website or send us an email directly 329 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:51,840 at infoatchildrensairwayfirst.org. 330 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:57,760 As a reminder, this podcast and the opinions expressed here are not a medical diagnosis. 331 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:02,720 If you suspect your child might have an airway issue, contact your pediatric airway dentist 332 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:04,960 or pediatrician. 333 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:30,880 And now let's jump back into my interview with today's guest, Renata Nami. 334 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:36,400 One of the things, as I understand it, is an open bite is a sign of an airway issue. 335 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:41,360 So if you have a child presenting that way, what are some things you would do when working 336 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:45,480 with them to help start the process of correcting this? 337 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:48,320 First thing I would do is nasal hygiene. 338 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:50,480 Second thing I would do is nasal hygiene. 339 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:54,640 And the third thing I would do is nasal hygiene. 340 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:56,520 You got to clean that nose. 341 00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:02,840 I tell all my patients every single time you brush your teeth, you blow your nose because 342 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:09,040 we need to make it a little bit more common for us to do that all the time. 343 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:14,160 You got to get used to cleaning your nose and using your nose. 344 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:18,960 So blow your nose every single time you clean your teeth. 345 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:20,720 They should go hand in hand. 346 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:25,660 At nighttime, whenever they take a bath, we can go ahead and get the nose, throw warm 347 00:22:25,660 --> 00:22:27,880 water in the nose and get them to blow. 348 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:32,400 Pick, I always tell them pick your boogers out, get all that stuff out of there. 349 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:34,040 And then we can do some nasal sprays. 350 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:39,360 Saline, nasal sprays, or X-Lear has a great product also. 351 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:45,920 They can spray the nose and blow, blow, blow, massage the nose on both sides, just getting 352 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:51,720 the patient used to using the nose. 353 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:58,320 Because if it's an airway issue, open bites are not caused by tongue thrust. 354 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:05,720 Open bites are usually caused by an underlying condition, usually breathing or something 355 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:06,720 else. 356 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:10,520 So we got to address breathing first always with every patient. 357 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:15,160 ANT appointment would be great to make sure they don't have anything enlarged. 358 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:19,320 They scoped the nose, put a little camera inside the nose so they can see the adenoids. 359 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:24,520 If you're a parent listening, always ask for the degree or the percentage of obstruction. 360 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:26,560 How obstructed is my child? 361 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,800 Because a lot of patients will come back and say, oh, the ANT looked and they said, it's 362 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:30,800 fine. 363 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:31,800 Well, what is it? 364 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:32,800 I'm not sure. 365 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:34,400 They said it's slightly enlarged. 366 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:36,080 Well, what does that mean exactly? 367 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:37,080 Give me a percentage. 368 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:41,120 Out of 100%, how much of is obstructed? 369 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:45,800 Because it's going to make a difference whenever we decide what kind of treatment to go with 370 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:47,160 for this child. 371 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:55,800 I usually say if a patient is obstructed 60% or 70% or more and they have sepnea, that's 372 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:59,080 when I recommend ANT treatment first. 373 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:04,720 The ANT would recommend either tonsils and anenoids removal or steroid spray or something 374 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:05,720 like that. 375 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,000 That's a pretty significant blockage. 376 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:09,480 Yes, it is. 377 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:14,480 And of course, we all know that expansion now, a rapid path to expansion that we call 378 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:20,080 RPE can reduce the size of tonsils and anenoids, but it is long term. 379 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:22,240 It takes some time for that to happen. 380 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:29,240 And if a child has sleep apnea and they are lacking oxygen every single night, it may be 381 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:30,560 too long for us to wait. 382 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:33,920 I'd rather get a child breathing well first. 383 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:37,840 So whatever we're going to do, I've had some patients that we recommend, okay, I don't 384 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,760 recommend doing flow nays or some steroid spray for a long time. 385 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:46,160 But if you guys want to do expansion first while you do the nasal spray so that child 386 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:49,200 can breathe while we're doing expansion, let's do that. 387 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,840 Because as soon as the patient is expanded enough, usually nasal breathing gets better 388 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:59,400 because you're increasing the size of the nose as you're increasing the size of the 389 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:00,800 roof of the mouth. 390 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:02,640 Which makes total sense. 391 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:03,640 Absolutely. 392 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:08,240 So when you're looking at a child, the child comes to you for the first time and you're 393 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:10,800 evaluating them for a tongue time. 394 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:14,800 That's my understanding, you can't always just see it. 395 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,000 That's how they're going unnoticed. 396 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:23,520 So what are three things that you look for when you're evaluating a child? 397 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,280 For a tongue time. 398 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:33,080 So number one is opening the mouth wide open and lifting or elevating the tongue without 399 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:34,880 closing the jaw. 400 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:40,920 So if they can elevate and almost touch the roof of the mouth, that usually means that 401 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:42,360 they have good mobility. 402 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:45,960 They can go all the way up without closing the jaw. 403 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:50,600 If they have to close the jaw every time, that's a problem. 404 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:56,120 And then we also look for the floor of the mouth that's elevating a lot. 405 00:25:56,120 --> 00:26:01,320 That can be a compensation of those muscles to try to get the tongue to move. 406 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:05,800 Another thing that I look for is for the jaw movement. 407 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:10,360 So then I'll ask them to go side to side, put the tongue from one corner of the mouth 408 00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:11,360 to the other corner. 409 00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:16,840 If the jaw is going with it, that means that they may have a restriction and every single 410 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:22,560 time they move their tongue, they have to move their jaw because they're so restricted. 411 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:24,600 And then the third thing that I look is function. 412 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:28,840 I want to see this child chew and swallow. 413 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:33,880 Because it's one of the most important functions that we do with our tongue. 414 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:38,400 Most of these doctors, whenever they are looking for a tongue tie, they actually are asking 415 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:41,280 the children to stick their tongue out. 416 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:43,400 That doesn't really mean anything. 417 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:48,320 There are plenty of kids who are tied and they can stick their tongue super far. 418 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:52,560 But whenever you ask them to actually chew food and swallow, it is a mess. 419 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:54,560 There's food coming out. 420 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:56,320 They have to keep their mouth open. 421 00:26:56,320 --> 00:27:00,800 They cannot lateralize the tongue to move the food from one side to the other. 422 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:05,240 Whenever they swallow, they are now forming a good bolus in the middle of the tongue. 423 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:11,200 The food is all over the tongue and they cannot swallow almost everything with one swallow. 424 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:14,520 You know, only it kind of stays a lot of stuff behind. 425 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:18,960 So these are things that we're looking for whenever we are evaluating for a tongue tie. 426 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:23,120 That's why a picture does not really work. 427 00:27:23,120 --> 00:27:28,640 And that's fascinating to me too, because I always thought that one of the things, you 428 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:31,360 know, stick the tongue out, see if they can do it. 429 00:27:31,360 --> 00:27:34,080 So that's really interesting. 430 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:39,520 And the reason why they say that it's because in medical school and in dental school, dental 431 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:46,080 hygiene and speech pathology also, whenever we learn about ankle oglossia or tongue tie, 432 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,480 it's that ankle oglossia, which is a full tongue tie. 433 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:54,760 And the three-nam, that little tissue underneath your tongue attaches to the tip of your tongue. 434 00:27:54,760 --> 00:28:00,560 So most of those patients cannot stick their tongue out past their lower teeth. 435 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:01,560 Okay. 436 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:07,600 But now we know that there are several different severities of restriction. 437 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:12,880 Some tongues are super restricted like that full ankle oglossia and some have more of 438 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:14,560 a posterior restriction. 439 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,280 It's the back of the tongue that cannot elevate. 440 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:21,200 And that will affect your swallowing those people that can stick it out, but they can't 441 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,200 put the tongue flat in the mouth, for example. 442 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:25,200 Yes. 443 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:27,200 Oh, that's interesting. 444 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:28,200 Okay. 445 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:29,200 Okay. 446 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:37,200 Another thing that we have, we've talked about in some, some previous episodes, we've talked 447 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:41,320 a little bit about, you know, cavities specifically around sealants. 448 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:45,040 And I'm not going to make you talk about sealants. 449 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:51,160 I do have a question because, you know, you've heard it around the PTA and we're all hanging 450 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:53,400 out talking and we're talking about kids or have a cavity. 451 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:54,400 I'm not worried about it. 452 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,280 That's just a baby tooth that's going to come out. 453 00:28:57,280 --> 00:28:59,280 But that's kind of a big deal. 454 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:02,640 And as parents, we're not taking that seriously as we should. 455 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:03,640 Yes. 456 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:07,720 I mean, I think that we should ask ourselves, well, why do siblings, right? 457 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:08,720 We have all these siblings. 458 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:12,240 Why do some of them have tons of cavities and the other ones do not? 459 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:16,280 You know, they're pretty much doing almost everything the same. 460 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:20,800 So there is a lot more to decay than we know. 461 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:28,720 I feel like there's a whole new conversation now around gut health, vitamin D deficiency, 462 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:34,280 vitamin K2 deficiency, making sure that the kids have enough nutrients. 463 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:35,560 Of course, sugar. 464 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:37,160 We all know about sugar. 465 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:41,960 But also any types of foods that stay stuck in your teeth, like goldfish. 466 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:45,360 It's awful because it really stays stuck on all these kids teeth. 467 00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:47,280 It's not sugar, but it's carbs. 468 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:48,280 Yeah. 469 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:50,080 Harbs is sugar. 470 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,400 So there's so much more that we're not aware of. 471 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:58,160 It's not just about brushing and flossing and using fluoride. 472 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:03,120 It's not just about how much sugar a certain child eats. 473 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:04,840 You know, it's the same thing. 474 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:13,960 The frequency, the length of time that he actually stays on the child's teeth. 475 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:18,360 If they, of course, how well they do their oral hygiene, all those things. 476 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:22,880 But then again, mouth breathing, whenever they are mouth breathing, everything dries 477 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:28,920 out and some of these cavities really like the dry air to form cavities a little bit 478 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:29,920 faster. 479 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:33,760 The saliva is there to protect those teeth. 480 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:36,760 It has tons of things in it that protects those teeth from decay. 481 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:39,960 So if everything is super dry all the time, they're more likely. 482 00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:45,040 Those kids that have tons of cavities on the upper front teeth, we always got to look for 483 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:51,200 a lip tie because a lip tie keeps the lip really close to the teeth and stuff gets stuck 484 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,400 in there and you can't clean it out. 485 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:58,440 So again, it's the it's the how long does the food touch the teeth, right? 486 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:03,360 So if he stays over there for a long, long time, it's more likely for that to to this 487 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:05,880 mineralize and break down. 488 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:08,080 It starts at those white spots. 489 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:11,200 Those white spots is the first sign of cavities. 490 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:19,000 And the not only does it have those issues that you have to be concerned with, but there 491 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:21,280 could be long term health implications, correct? 492 00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:26,320 I mean, even though they're baby teeth, this could set up a child for some bigger issues 493 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:27,320 down the road. 494 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:28,680 A hundred percent. 495 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:32,880 So the baby teeth are extremely important because they are going to guide the adult 496 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:35,040 teeth on where to go. 497 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:40,720 If you lose a baby teeth too soon, a baby tooth too soon, then the adult tooth is more likely 498 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:45,440 to come in crooked, come in in the wrong place because it does not have that guide. 499 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:50,800 Also, it's more likely to lose space because those teeth are always they want to touch 500 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:51,800 things, right? 501 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:55,160 They always are looking for a friend to hang out. 502 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:56,160 There's nobody around them. 503 00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:57,880 They're going to go look for the next one. 504 00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:06,200 So they move and they are going to close those spaces if you're lost a baby tooth way too 505 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:07,200 early. 506 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:11,240 So definitely you want to take care of those, keep them as long as you can. 507 00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:13,640 Kids are more likely to develop correctly. 508 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:19,360 You have their adult teeth come in without any crowding if we keep them. 509 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:22,720 Awesome. 510 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:29,760 So I guess I'd like to shift gears a little bit and this is definitely just a matter of 511 00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:33,160 opinion, but you're in the field and you're seeing it firsthand. 512 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:43,080 So where do you see the role of the myofunctional therapist growing and moving to and incorporating 513 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:44,080 in these? 514 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:49,480 Like you mentioned, you're kind of the middle of these cross functional groups over the 515 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:51,600 course of the next couple of years. 516 00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:54,560 Oh my goodness. 517 00:32:54,560 --> 00:33:03,360 I see and I am hoping for more awareness in not only the medical community, but also the 518 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,680 parents and schools. 519 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:10,840 If more people understand exactly what we're looking for and what we do and how important 520 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:14,720 that is for child development. 521 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:19,760 I really feel, you know, myofunctional therapy is not a true profession. 522 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:27,760 It is a modality that is practiced by mostly dental hygienists and speech pathologists. 523 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:31,960 But I would love to see it as a true profession. 524 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:36,760 It's a specialty that speech pathologists and dental hygienists decide to go into and it 525 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:45,880 becomes a true certification through, you know, with a federal board and all of that 526 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:48,400 because it is just that important. 527 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:50,640 I mean, we're all doing these things all the time. 528 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:51,640 We're all breathing. 529 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:53,640 We're all chewing or swallowing. 530 00:33:53,640 --> 00:34:02,160 We all need the oral or official functions in order to grow and develop and be well. 531 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:11,880 So I'm just really hoping that more awareness comes out and more professionals start collaborating 532 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:17,680 with us and more parents are seeking the help of a myofunctional therapist. 533 00:34:17,680 --> 00:34:24,560 And I think that last one is huge and granted, I'm a little biased as a parent, but I really 534 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:26,080 wish I had known. 535 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:27,080 Right. 536 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:30,760 Again, you don't know what you don't know, but I wish I had known about myofunctional 537 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:36,120 therapy when my children were younger because I'm doing research now and I'm speaking with 538 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:42,240 professionals such as yourself and just the impacts it could have on a child's health 539 00:34:42,240 --> 00:34:43,240 span. 540 00:34:43,240 --> 00:34:46,160 It's astounding to me. 541 00:34:46,160 --> 00:34:47,160 Absolutely astounding. 542 00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:56,160 My dream would be to, for every dentist, every orthodontist, every pediatrician and every 543 00:34:56,160 --> 00:34:59,840 ENT to have their myofunctional therapist. 544 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:05,000 They don't have to work in the office, but have the person who they work with because 545 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:08,080 these patients are going to go back and forth. 546 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:11,640 You can't, and the reason I always say the reason why myofunctional therapy works so 547 00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:15,560 well is because we're never just doing myofunctional therapy. 548 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:17,320 We're sending these patients to the ENT. 549 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:19,480 We're sending these patients to orthodontics. 550 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:25,440 They are doing other treatment modalities and that's why it works. 551 00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:26,680 We are treating the whole body. 552 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:28,000 We're looking at the whole picture. 553 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:29,720 We're looking at the whole patient. 554 00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:32,800 We're not just treating the oral facial muscles. 555 00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:38,720 That's how special the myofunctional therapy therapist is because we're constantly learning. 556 00:35:38,720 --> 00:35:41,200 We are part of study clubs. 557 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:46,600 We have weekly webinars on Airway Circle that we usually get about 70 people live every 558 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:50,600 single week and they're all there to learn more. 559 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:56,560 We're always, we got to find out how can we help these patients better. 560 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:58,160 We need to learn from other professionals. 561 00:35:58,160 --> 00:35:59,160 That's what Airway Circle is. 562 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:02,680 I want to learn about IV-CLC, which is an othectatic consultant. 563 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:04,520 What are they looking at? 564 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:07,600 What is an occupational therapist looking for? 565 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:09,840 Can a child crawl with both knees? 566 00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:11,320 Also, my kids only crawled with one knee. 567 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:12,560 I thought it was the cutest thing. 568 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:14,120 Well, it's a problem. 569 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:16,640 But until I learned that from an occupational therapist, I didn't know what to do. 570 00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:17,640 How would you know? 571 00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:18,640 That that's the problem. 572 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:19,640 How would you know? 573 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:21,720 So, that's the importance of the myofunctional therapist. 574 00:36:21,720 --> 00:36:23,200 They have the knowledge. 575 00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:28,320 They have a little bit of knowledge of every single specialty so they know when to refer. 576 00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:34,520 Any if you go to an ENT, they're not necessarily going to refer back to Maya. 577 00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:35,520 Right. 578 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:36,520 Right. 579 00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:37,520 Which hopefully that will change. 580 00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:39,640 And I'll make sure to put a link to that as well. 581 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:47,440 So, Ijenist and other myofunctional therapists listening today can join in on some of your 582 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:48,440 webinars. 583 00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:49,440 Yes. 584 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:53,200 We have a membership with ARI Circle and we offer weekly webinars. 585 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:55,080 We have a research folder we have. 586 00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:56,080 We're fun. 587 00:36:56,080 --> 00:36:59,760 So, we have giveaways and we have fun meetings that we do. 588 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:01,520 But it's not only for myofunctional therapists. 589 00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:03,560 That is our biggest audience. 590 00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:06,400 But we have the whole interdisciplinary team. 591 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:11,520 We have many Jentist and speech pathologists and ENTs that come in and hang out with us 592 00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:12,680 and we all learn together. 593 00:37:12,680 --> 00:37:14,040 As it should be. 594 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:15,040 Right. 595 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:16,840 And I know, I'll give them a plug. 596 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:19,760 Dr. Bill Harrell is one of your biggest advocates. 597 00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:24,520 He absolutely adores your work and what you guys are doing and is a huge, huge advocate 598 00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:25,520 for you guys. 599 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:27,240 He goes both ways. 600 00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:29,320 We love him. 601 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:35,520 So at the end of every episode, I like to hand the floor back to our guests because you 602 00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:36,520 are the experts. 603 00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:37,520 You're the ones. 604 00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:39,600 Everyone's here to hear. 605 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:48,600 So what final thought or message would you like to leave for our parents or other professionals? 606 00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:55,480 For parents, if you're learning this information now, breathe. 607 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:57,120 It is okay. 608 00:37:57,120 --> 00:37:59,640 Your child is going to be okay. 609 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,960 You're finding this out at the right time. 610 00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:06,320 A lot of us feel so guilty whenever we find this information. 611 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:10,160 Oh my goodness, my child is already a certain age and I've missed all these things. 612 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:11,480 It is okay. 613 00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:15,880 You are always, every single day as a parent, you're doing the best you can with the information 614 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:16,880 that you have. 615 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:19,320 Well, now you have good, you know, newer information. 616 00:38:19,320 --> 00:38:22,160 Let's just do the best we can with the new information. 617 00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:24,280 Take one step at a time. 618 00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:28,080 The myofunctional therapist, your myofunctional therapist is going to hold your hand and guide 619 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:31,640 you through the steps. 620 00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:38,000 For professionals, keep sharing, keep collaborating, keep reaching out to other colleagues and 621 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:41,920 invite them to come join us because we need more. 622 00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:46,960 There's just not enough, there are not enough professionals out there to screen these patients 623 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:49,200 and to help treat these patients. 624 00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:53,800 So if you can call one of your colleagues, somebody that you went to school with, you 625 00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:59,480 know, and ask them if they've heard of this, share a podcast episode, share a YouTube video 626 00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:05,200 or Instagram video that you've seen and invite them to join in one of the lectures. 627 00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:09,520 We got to all help each other out so we can help more patients. 628 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:10,520 Well said. 629 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:12,520 I could not have said that better. 630 00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:14,360 That was fantastic. 631 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:18,800 Thank you so much for being on today and sharing all this amazing information. 632 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:20,160 I really appreciate it. 633 00:39:20,160 --> 00:39:22,240 Well, thank you so much for having me. 634 00:39:22,240 --> 00:39:23,840 This has been a pleasure. 635 00:39:23,840 --> 00:39:25,520 Thank you. 636 00:39:25,520 --> 00:39:30,440 Thanks again to today's guests, Renata Nemi, for sharing her medical insight and each of 637 00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:33,440 you for listening to today's episode. 638 00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:36,480 If you're new to our podcast, please don't forget to subscribe. 639 00:39:36,480 --> 00:39:40,600 And if you enjoyed today's episode, leave us a review or comment telling us about what 640 00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:42,760 you enjoyed most. 641 00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:46,800 You can stay connected with the Children's Airway First Foundation by following us on 642 00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:51,680 Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. 643 00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:58,240 Guests can also join us via our Facebook Parents Support Group, the airway huddle, at facebook.com 644 00:39:58,240 --> 00:40:02,200 backslash groups backslash airway huddle. 645 00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:07,000 You can also find tons of great content for parents and medical professionals alike via 646 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:11,840 the parents portal and our clinicians corner on the CAF website. 647 00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:16,080 If you'd like to be a guest or have an idea for an upcoming episode, shoot us a note via 648 00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:24,800 the context page on our website or send us an email directly at info at childrensairwayfirst.org. 649 00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:29,120 And finally, thanks to all the parents and medical professionals out there that are working 650 00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:33,400 to help make the lives of kids around the globe just a little bit better. 651 00:40:33,400 --> 00:41:03,240 Take care, stay safe and happy breeding everyone.