You're listening to Health Lifelines, a podcast
brought to you by the Lifeguard approach, your
trusted source for insights, solutions, and training
that empower you to become a lifeguard for your
patient's health and wellbeing. Good day, friends,
and welcome to the Health Lifelines podcast.
Today, I'm gonna be speaking with and having
a great conversation with Dr. Julia. And so let's
jump right in. Welcome, Dr. Julia. Thank you.
It's exciting to be here to chat with you, Chris.
Absolutely. To begin with, give our listeners
a brief synopsis of where you've been as far
as your thinking and your education and how that
impacted your approach to patients. Absolutely.
So I graduated from dental school. I am a dentist
and I went through a few years in a traditional
dental practice before I incidentally stumbled
down the first rabbit hole of biological dentistry.
So finding my way really on accident it was it
was a fated meeting that I found an office that
was hiring, they advertised as holistic. And
I thought, I don't know about that, but I'm gonna
go find out what they're all about. And that
was my first really discovery into thinking about
dentistry differently. And - Well, that's very
interesting to me because from what I - understand
and know of human nature, change isn't something
that we necessarily willingly jump into. So what
was it about what you heard or saw or a conversation
you had that literally what I call reduced your
threshold of concern? in order that you decided
I need to take some personal action in this.
So get down to your nitty -gritty of what must
change. Yeah. So to be honest, I don't think
I knew what I was signing up for when I first
discovered biological dentistry. So now just
to quickly round out the picture of the journey
I've stumbled through, and then I'll explain
more into that pivot. But going into first, biological
dentistry where I began to take more consideration
into dental materials and inflammation in the
body as a whole and really making sure that the
mouth connects with the rest of our body as we
know is very important. But then I really fell
into a network. I was practicing in Chicago,
a network with an incredible group of providers
that were offering airway dentistry. And so my
second tumble down the rabbit hole was to discover
airway dentistry. And then the reality of where
I've sort of landed now is I've created my own
business, Oris Wellness, that is geared all around
providing education and support for parents as
they try to navigate this airway dentistry space.
So. A lot of my own journey, I'm always so impressed
by the parents that I meet and the amount of
education that they've had to take on themselves
in order to advocate for their own children.
And I've always been interested in my favorite
part of dentistry was educating the parents on
things that I saw that maybe... I wasn't necessarily
the right provider for offering that service.
I always joked that I could refer you to this
person or that person. I became an excellent
referral source to other providers. But I think
that that's important too, because we sometimes
just need to be able to direct these families
to get patients, or of all ages really, to get
the care that they need. that begins with the
education piece and making sure that they understand
that what they may need may be beyond the traditional
scope of what they've been offered in the dental
practices that they've come across before. You're
so right. And I posted a social media post recently
that said I tried to continue to be a traditional
hygienist, but there were too many other options.
And I think that especially now with the science
that we have, we need to be thinking and looking
at patient health very, very differently, very
differently. And the biggest thing that I think
from my perspective as a hygienist is we've got
to start asking new and better questions. that
aren't the old, tired, worn pedantic questions
that we've been asking for decades. So tell me
a little bit about how your conversation with
parents has changed since you started in dentistry.
Sounds like you've made a shift. Absolutely,
and I think even You're absolutely correct. It's
been an evolution that still happens because
every parent that I talk to, I learn something
new from each individual situation. And that's
where I'll start is just really, when I first
sort of pivoted into a more holistic mindset
about things, it was making me more aware of
seeing that patient as an individual and coming
to understand that I can tell you who I think
is the best person for this or that, but at the
end of the day, I've really learned that I have
to figure out what's best for each individual
family and make a recommendation based on what
that set of circumstances is, what their preferences
are, and really making sure that we're taking
the most customized approach possible. I love
that and you're truly, truly putting the patient
first. Everything that we do and that is where
our focus needs to be placed. For those that
don't understand and for some lay people and
parents that might be listening to this, could
you explain the difference between biological
and holistic so that they understand that when
they're possibly looking? Absolutely. So I think
holistic is more of an umbrella term that applies
to, again, just seeing the body as a whole and
really making sure that we are addressing the
issues or symptoms as the person's entire health
system. So when I say body, of course, I don't
just mean your physical body, your mental health
is a part of that as well, your nervous system,
all of it, tying all of it together and just
seeing things from a broader lens. Whereas biological
dentistry tends to be a little bit more specific
into, I suppose really the sort of the biochemistry
of the body and looking at you know signs of
is this certain dental material that we're using
going to be the right material for you? Are we
able to address inflammation in different ways?
It sounds like a lot of what you've done sort
of with tackling the biofilm for your patients
and and and kind of changing the way that you
get patients to a state of health by really you're
not just cleaning the the calculus off of teeth
you're really trying to take that approach from
the inside out and make those changes that are
going to make them healthier so in in those regards
holistic is kind of a more broad term and it
can apply. I always say that sort of airway dentistry
and breathing is holistic, but it's not always
the same as biologic in that way. Biologic tends
to be a little more focused on the materials.
You can have providers that look at both, certainly,
but it's not always the case that somebody is
looking at both of those. Thank you for doing
that. I'm sure that'll bring some clarity to
a lot of people. So what do you feel is, what's
your biggest challenge? What are you seeing the
most both in, you treat adults too, right? So
I've really pivoted. I was treating all ages
in Chicago where I was practicing. Right now
I've really pivoted into the consulting space
strictly for families and parents in order to
help them find the treatments for their children.
So I'm not practicing chair -side dentistry at
the exact moment in time. I'm really focused
on meeting parents and giving them this education
virtually so that they can answer their questions
and get clarity on the different types of treatments,
the different kinds of providers that might help
them. And then even in some cases, helping them
locate those providers that can round out their
care team that have similar philosophies to look
at things from a more holistic approach. And
that's not always what all parents want. So that's
the other side of it is I might think that that
approach is better, but I have had clients who
are more focused on traditional approaches. They
work in hospital systems and they prefer to get
straight to more direct. And that's where, again,
I have to learn to listen to. I can educate the
parent on these are the wide variety of options
that we have. But at the end of the day, if a
parent wants a surgical approach, if they want
to start with getting adenoids and tonsils taken
out rather than trying expanders first or something
to that effect, that decision lies with a parent.
And I think that, you know, making sure that
they have the right information to make the best
decision for what their child needs. So I guess
that was an explanation of what I'm doing. But
my biggest challenge with that, just to circle
back to where you had started, is probably just
letting more families know that there are options.
I think a lot of the parents I talk to get stuck
because they've either hit a place of overwhelm
of You know, they're not getting consistent answers
and that feels overwhelming and that can make
them sort of freeze and shut down so on the one
hand knowing that this variety of treatment proposals
they've received, that's normal. There are a
lot of different options of how things can be
addressed, and we just have to find what feels
aligned for each individual. But on the other
hand, sometimes the indecision or the inaction
that parents are falling into is because they've
gone to see their local provider that supposedly
is the one that provides this more airway focused
treatment. But maybe, you know, maybe starting
with myofunctional therapy feels like a really
hard place for them because, as we know, it's
a huge commitment to do the exercises and to
take that on, especially with a young child and
making sure that they can commit to that type
of routine. So sometimes parents get stuck when
they think I've already done this. or I've already
gone to hear what they had to say, and then they
don't know what steps to take next. And so that's
the challenge I'm facing is to make sure that
more parents know there's always something that
you can look into to be able to take action.
You don't have to get stuck. Yes, and that goes
back to that. I think what you do is you help
parents that are at a certain level of their
understanding of things and events that are happening
with their children, and you bring their level
of concern down. And everybody says, well, why
don't you raise the level of concern? No, when
you lower a level of concern, it brings about
in the person a moment where they realize, I've
got to take action now. and I've got to do something
about this now instead of just figuring oh you
know my regular provider will be just fine to
to deal with these issues and that's not always
the case. So I hugely acknowledge what you're
doing and your focus and how you're going about
reaching people. What have you found is, aside
from what we just talked about, what do you find
is your biggest challenge in doing a virtual
consulting company? Yeah, that's a great question.
You know our training and our background as a
hygienist or as a dentist is much more Hands
-on with our skill set and so I know that sort
of shifting into both sort of the entrepreneurial
mindset and also As as you Kind of mastered and
honed the art of really talking to people that
was that was something you built a skill up over
time with how you Made that connection with the
patients and you got to know them over time And
that's probably one of the bigger challenges
is in this virtual existence These aren't long
-standing relationships. I don't have the every
six month cleaning to rely on to really get sort
of to understand what their motivations are or
to at least plant a seed. Sometimes we're not
ready for change and so sometimes that's one
of the things that in a chair -side practice
I was able to sort of plant a seed and say think
about this, take this list of symptoms home with
you, pay attention to that over the next few
months and when you come back we'll chat further.
So now in this virtual phase it's really I'm
I'm finding the parents who certainly are ready
and motivated to get the help that they need
because they recognize in themselves that they've
sort of let things go in a way that they don't
feel good about. They'd like to take action,
but they don't have all the confidence in what
the next steps are. So building those relationships,
I've been really pleasantly surprised at how
well I feel like I've have been able to connect
with a lot of the parents that I've connected
with virtually and in some cases have some ongoing
support and relationships there. And a lot of
them are kind enough to send me updates after
the fact because most of my work is really done
in one session. Over about the course of an hour,
we meet together and try to just find some solutions
for them. And so a lot of what I truly have enjoyed
has been the messages I get after from parents
when they're a few months down the road and they
just let me know how much better their child
is doing, the mouth breathing is better, or the
various symptoms that they're seeing. Tonsils
have pencil size has gone down. So that's been
really rewarding, but it is harder to have that
relationship in the virtual setting. You're listening
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now let's jump back into today's episode. And
how do you establish relationships with people
you refer to since you're virtual? So people
may be calling from Timbuktu and how do you go
about finding people to collaborate with and
refer to? That's a great question. That is the
result of a few different factors. One is membership
and participation in some of the organizations
myself. So either training, you know, a lot of
people refer to certain organizations that they've
trained with, or also different organizations
that we attend meetings with on a somewhat either
annual or semi annual basis. So certain organizations
that I belong to, and I have the network from
that, but also just others who I've been able
to learn about. There are certain directories.
I know you're very involved with the Children's
Airway First Foundation. There's a lot of support
and resources in a variety of networks and organizations
that in some cases, it'll be me reaching out
to other members in those organizations and asking.
But in some cases, it's strictly using what I
know about the type of treatment or the type
of therapy that somebody is looking for and running
a search through different geographic areas to
see I have a little more insight professionally
than some parents who maybe don't know what they're
looking for or haven't figured out exactly the
right terminology. Again, I'm so impressed by
the number of parents that I have met with that
are using all the right vocabulary, they sound
like they've already been to dental school. I
hesitate to kind of chuckle at it because I know
that it's hard earned knowledge that they've
had to assemble this knowledge on their own so
far. But it is really impressive that a lot of
them have put that together. But sometimes it's
just finding the right word, finding the right
company, or different things like that. So there's
a variety of possibilities that we can use and
in most cases you know those providers are highly
recommended and so I try to stick with providers
that are getting good reviews on the whole and
in most cases the families I've worked with have
been really happy so it's been good. Awesome.
What a service you're providing. Thank you for
doing that. So what ages, do you limit yourself
to the lower age range or do you do, you know,
birth to age 18? I do try to cut off around age
12 or so. I do, I will chat with those who are,
I used to provide phinectomies for infants, so
I do have the insight into the infants. But I
think that those situations are often don't involve
quite as much support. So I still talk to a lot
of parents that are that are dealing with feeding
issues and they're looking for their support
and I definitely still offer that service. But
the majority of the families that I'm helping
are typically around, I would say, age three
to age 12. Once they're around age 12, they've
probably developed enough to really start to
be looking at these interventions from more of
what's available to the adult population, just
due to the growth that they've already gone through.
Within that age group, what would you say is
the most outstanding thing that you've learned
about, say, three to six year olds, what is most
impactful in their life that you can help direct
them toward? I think anything we can do to promote
nasal breathing is definitely most impactful,
and there are a variety of ways to get there.
But that is such a pivotal foundation for these
children and the growth that they're going to
see over the next several years. And if we can
ensure that their habit is to breathe through
their nose rather than to breathe through their
mouth, their health, their sleep, their growth,
their development, their learning. So many things
are just going to be in a better place to really
thrive. Yes. I just interviewed Dr. Hang who
I'm sure you're aware of. And I was curious,
have you seen the photo that they took of him
and published in the paper after he ran the Boston
Marathon? He ran it with a piece of tape on his
mouth. And I was just like, oh my gosh, what
a feat. Absolutely. And he's right. I've heard
him speak to the fact that the other athletes
have taken that approach and really made it sort
of a buzzy celebrity situation in some cases,
which is great. It brings a lot more attention
and awareness to how much nasal breathing can
really enhance our sense of wellness. Absolutely.
How would someone go about getting in touch with
you if they wanted to take advantage of your
services? The easiest way is through my website.
We can share a link to that. It's www .oriswellness
.com. Going through my website, I actually do
offer a free 20 minute discovery call for any
parents that are just wondering is this the right?
service for me. It gives us a chance to do some
introductions and for me to make sure that we're
kind of a good fit, a good match, and that I
would be able to answer any questions about how
I work and point you in the right direction.
So that's how most parents come through. If someone's
really feeling tight on time, I do have an option
where they can jump straight into the call. But
most parents do want to benefit from that discovery
call first just to make sure because what I offer
is pretty unique, it's not a very common service.
And so just making sure that they feel like this
is the right next step for them. Yeah. Well,
and again, what a great resource you are for
people in this day and age of so much. Not necessarily
conflicting, but it's like, well, what's the
right thing to do for my child? So you help them
define that and That is a real gift to be able
to help somebody do. Thank you. I've been enjoying
learning. I mean, again, I've been listening
to your podcast as well. And that's one of the
things that I like to do is to send parents.
podcast episodes that I think helpful resources
for them. And so I think that, you know, you've
been a champion for making sure that patients
find autonomy. And I love the fact that you're
working to educate other hygienists and other
team members from from all different parts of
the dental offices to really think about this
differently and change that paradigm too. Yes.
And, you know, for me, It all goes back to events
that happened in my childhood. And that really
set the stage for me of who I was going to be
for my family and others. And so in the last
close to 50 years, who I was going to be for
my patients, it just took me a little while to
figure that all out. But the great thing is,
as the science evolved, I evolved and so have
you. And that is the most important thing. And
bringing and sharing that knowledge of evolution
into what's best for our children has been a
gift that we've been able to do because parents
don't live in the same realm we do. They don't
know what the science is and what's changing.
And, you know, just as an example, most parents
probably think there's nothing wrong with retractive
orthodontics. Absolutely. So when they take their
11 or 12 year old in to be examined and develop
a treatment plan for extracting teeth, or if
not that, using retractive devices, we just are
so working towards not doing that anymore. It
is not how to take care of our kids. And it starts
so much earlier than just the dental treatments
themselves. It's the habits at home. It's the
awareness of, you know, I hear a lot of parents
say, I know my child shouldn't be sucking their
thumb, but we're dealing with. all these other
health issues right now. And what they don't
often realize is that those other health issues
are all adding up and connecting to signs that
there is a greater airway issue. And so that's
where we have to look at habits and environments
and all the things that are changing. And you're
right, parents. oftentimes don't have the opportunity
to appreciate what's going on because they're,
to use your analogy with the lifeguard approach,
they're drowning in the situation. If they're
not sleeping well, if their little one's not
sleeping well, they're not sleeping well, and
all of this adds up and becomes very overwhelming
in the number of decisions that parents have
to make on a daily basis just to make sure that
everyone's doing well really can get to be a
lot. So helping to make sure that that we can
streamline this information that's getting to
them is is the least we can do. Yes and for all
you caregivers out there just be committed when
you see something say something because um our
parents have a right to know and we have an obligation
we took an oath both dentists and hygienists
and I don't know about any of the other dental
professionals, but we took an oath to always
be honest and to advance the art and science
of dentistry. And this is what it's about. We're
advancing the knowledge and understanding, and
we're saving lives at the same time, because
my big belief is what is allowed to persist in
a child. follows that child for the rest of their
life. And I'm a perfect example of that, having
had four bicuspid extractions and retractive
orthodontics. So yeah, man, I'm a pit bull when
it comes to making sure that we do the right
thing according to what the science says, not
according to tradition. There's so many other
options. So I like to... call myself when somebody
says, well, who are you? And I say, I'm an architect
of change, formerly known as a traditional hygienist.
I like that. You are that to a T. So thank you
for all that you do. As we kind of wind this
down today, I would like you to tell me about
two things. Number one, what do you consider
your superpower. I guess I would I would circle
back to what I was saying at the beginning was
that was sort of a joke at first where I was
practicing as a dentist in a dentist office and
sending all of my patients elsewhere. So it became
a situation where at first it sounded funny but
I think I'm very good and I've honed the skill
of knowing when to refer somebody and so even
though at this point it's now shifted that the
clients that are coming to me are obviously not
in my dental chair right now, but I do think
my skill is sort of taking a step back and saying,
what is the number one symptom that we're hoping
to address? Because sometimes that gets overlooked.
I can help you put a plan together, but your
motivation is gonna come from what the number
one symptom you're hoping to change is. And so
that might... influence where we get started
or who the right provider is or the right type
of provider. So I think my superpower is knowing
when and who to refer to, figuring that out for
each situation. What a gift. Thank you for developing
and honing that. part of you and that gift and
what you have to contribute to dentistry and
to the health and wellness of patients. It's
so needed today. So my second question for you
is I've started having you, my guest, always
leave a question for the next person that I interview.
And it doesn't have to be anything specific,
just what comes to mind that you think would
be a great question because I'm all into quality
questions. I love questions. So what would you
think would be a great question for the next
person? I would love to hear. I think an interesting
place to go might be how do you want to be remembered?
What is the change that you want to be remembered
for? That was for me a really pivotal question.
I have a dear friend who does a lot of business
mentorship and business coaching. And, you know,
a lot of times when you're trying to figure out,
I've heard you say before, who you want to be
for your patients. When you're trying to figure
that out, I think it's simple to fall into this
trap of, you know, Trying to envision the future
and trying to see what might become of each individual
situation or of your specific situation but one
of the things that she asked was What is the
change that you want to make and how do you want
to be remembered for the change that you make
and for some reason? That little tweak instead
of looking at myself in the future. It was what
is the change that I want to make? for others
in the future and that was helpful for me. So
maybe I would ask that to your next. That's a
great question. And I think when you look at
it from that perspective, it takes a lot of the
fear and the resistance to change when you make
it about other people and not about you. So that's
a very great piece of advice. Thank you. And
that's a great question. I will be sure and ask
the next question. I'm curious, is your mentor
and friend, is she, is it a woman? It is, yes.
Is she in Chicago? This is an exception to the
rule. She's not in Chicago. She was a university
friend of mine that I've kept in touch with.
Well, this has been such a pleasure, Julia. And
we'll put in the show notes how you can get a
hold of Julia. And you know, really, if you have
any questions concerned about We all want the
best for our child and we'll do anything to satisfy
that kind of burning desire in our hearts to
always ensure that our children have the best.
And so I'd encourage you to reach out to Dr.
Julia, give her a call or schedule an appointment
with her for an exploratory call and take advantage
of her wisdom. This is not just advice, this
is wisdom. So, thank you again for being with
us today. I appreciate it. Thank you, Chris.
It was a pleasure chatting with you. Thank you.
That's it for today's episode of Health to Lifelines,
brought to you by the Lifeguard Approach. I hope
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