Small Talk - Speech, Language & Literacy Centre

16/07/2025

Podcast Episode · Dentistry Disrupted · 15/07/2025 · 38m

30/06/2025

Today I learned the world has changed
We have lost a great amongst us
Prof John Mew passed this week gone.
He was a delight to speak to. He was a delight to know. I never met him, but we came to speak often. I think the following is a beautiful speech…

From Beyond the Veil

“If you’re hearing my words now, it means my time among you has passed. But ideas — the true ones — don’t die. They live on in minds that dare to question and in hearts brave enough to change.

I spent my life asking questions no one wanted to ask — and offering answers many were not ready to hear. I was not always welcomed. I was often misunderstood. But I never lost sight of the simple truth:

We are not born broken.
We are shaped — by habit, by environment, by culture.

The face is not just a canvas of beauty; it is the map of your health, your development, your identity. How you breathe. How you hold your head. Where your tongue rests. These things matter — more than most will ever realize.

I challenged an entire profession not to criticize it, but to wake it up. Because orthodontics, as it stands, too often treats symptoms, not causes. And children suffer in silence when their growth is misunderstood.

To parents: start early. Guide gently. A child’s future — their airway, their posture, their confidence — lies in your hands.

To professionals: do not fear controversy. Fear complacency. The truth has never belonged to the majority, but to those willing to seek it, even when it’s uncomfortable.

And to the next generation: you are the guardians of a new way. Build a world where form follows function, and health begins not in treatment, but in understanding.

I may be gone from the world of flesh and breath, but my voice, my message, my hope — they remain.

Let the face grow forward. Let the child grow free. Let truth grow louder than fear.”

15/06/2025

Podcast Episode · Holistic Health for Happy Kids · 11/06/2025 · 46m

05/06/2025

22/05/2025

12/05/2025

It was wonderful to meet paediatric dentist and tongue-tie researcher Dr Ray Tseng from North Carolina, and to learn more about his inspiring work - collecting extensive data in his multidisciplinary private practice and the research he’s published to date with local speech pathologist Sharon Smart. I look forward to hearing more about their ongoing work at Tongue Time in Switzerland next January.

It was also a pleasure to spend time over dinner chatting to colleagues who share a commitment to ongoing education in myofunctional therapy and tongue-tie. It's an exciting time to have more passionate and local clinicians on the same page!

07/05/2025

Chewing is a fundamental aspect of jaw development in children. It plays a crucial role in shaping the jaw and supporting airway health.

By encouraging your child to chew more, you can help prevent airway disorders and support your child’s overall health.

✨Learn more about jaw development and airway health in our latest blog at our website www.childrensairwayfirst.org

Drop an 🍎 in the comments to show your support for healthy airways and helping children to reach their fullest lifespan potential! 🍎

06/05/2025

Families of Children with a Common Speech Disorder Miss Out on New Medicare Support -a glaring omission that has parents and experts deeply concerned.

07/04/2025

Here’s a tongue-tie in a 6-year-old I saw today.

The presenting concern was frustration and lack of progress with speech therapy. Two to three years later, with many changes in therapists, going in many different directions, the last therapist said everything was fine for her age.

Still grappling with persistent speech concerns, mum has also sought ENT evaluation.

The ENT diagnosed a tongue-tie but said to leave it. Mum was confused as despite a history of breastfeeding challenges including pain, latching difficulties, and symptoms of air-induced reflux, multiple lactation consultants, and all her speech therapists have not noted it prior.

She has had surgery to insert grommets to help address mild hearing loss, and removal of adenoids. A year later, she is still having ongoing ear infections, requiring constant rounds of antibiotics, and an x-ray has confirmed regrowth of the adenoids. The ENT has said to have them out again, but through a friend, mum has started to question whether it could be the mouth that could be contributing to the speech problems.

She had a very slow transition to solids. She would only like smooth purees and took a long time to eat as soon as texture was introduced. Mum describes her as the slowest eater she has ever seen in her life.

In the mouth, I see one of the strongest red flags of breathing problems – teeth grinding related tooth wear. She has a constricted palate and tongue-space.

It turns out she is a hot and sweaty sleeper, with a history of disturbed and fragmented sleep. She is not refreshed in the morning, and there are significant concerns with emotional regulation, and anxiety.

This is not an uncommon story. I feel a deep sense of despair for parents doing their absolute best to get answers and experiencing years of conflicting advice and dismissal of their concerns. Often parents are frustrated and overwhelmed to tears during consultation. And there needs to be a day where people are not driving for hours or flying in to get answers.

I’d like a future where every lactation consultant, speech therapist, ENT specialist, dentist and more is trained to understand that we need to pay attention to tongue elevation.

We need the tongue to lift well for

✅ Efficient drainage during breastfeeding
✅ Good swallowing and eustachian tube clearance
✅ Speech perception and articulation
✅ Palate development
✅ Good breathing and sleep

And when we allow compensations and overuse muscles of the face, jaw, and neck during oral functions, the ultimate problem is that we don't develop the proper tongue tone and posture for good breathing, sleep, and a child to thrive to their full potential during the day.

We need to question whether breastfeeding, chewing, swallowing, and speech problems could be related to how the muscles of the mouth are working. And if we recognise those same muscles are those that affect how airway grows and functions – we need to be in-tune for signs of airway problems in children.

As professionals, let’s start recognising the whole child – not just the immediate concerns but laying the foundation for a thriving future. Check out Inspiration by Integration 2024: A Practical Guide to Children's Airway Health - which will spark lots of new conversations on integrative care.

Parents, find empowerment in connecting the dots, and gain confidence in advocating for your child to build more professional curiosity and collaboration.

07/04/2025

Often people are referred to our practice by other health care colleagues, friends, and family, expecting to see either a tongue-tie specialist, paediatric dentist, or orthodontist.

It could be surprising to learn that I am not any of the above.

There is no post-graduate training program in tongue-ties that allows any medical professional to claim they are a tongue-tie specialist in Australia.

Pediatric dentists are dentists that have done a further three years of postgraduate training in children’s dentistry – they are especially well equipped to manage children with special needs and more complex medical histories.

Orthodontists are dentists that have done a further three years of postgraduate training in straightening teeth, fixing bites, and aligning the jaws.

I am a general dentist, but my practice is completely restricted to the management of tongue-tie and the consequences of oral dysfunction from infancy through to adulthood.

I have a post-graduate diploma in dental sleep medicine, or the management of adult snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea with dental devices. I have seen the consequences in of untreated airway and sleep problems in adulthood, and my special interest is in the promotion of good airway health and development from infancy. This means promoting nasal breathing, good jaw development, and optimal oral function during sucking, swallowing, chewing, and breathing in childhood. My continuing education has subsequently had a very heavy focus on tongue-tie management, early interceptive orthodontic treatment, myofunctional orthodontics, and myofunctional therapy.

The most common problems people seek consultation with me include:

• Infant feeding challenges
• Poor swallowing and reflux like symptoms
• Mouth breathing
• Snoring
• Teeth grinding
• Obstructive sleep apnoea
• Sleep disturbed breathing and behavioural concerns in children
• Speech concerns including limited progress with speech therapy
• Poor jaw development and opinion regarding early interceptive treatment
• Thumb sucking and other oral habits
• Chronic neck tension and headaches

Often people want to know why I have a disclaimer that before proceeding with orthodontic treatment it is important to seek a second opinion with a specialist orthodontist. The reason is that it’s a requirement from our professional body to ensure that patients are fully informed that they are not seeing a registered specialist who has completed a three-year specialty program covering the full scope of orthodontic problems and their management.

I’m completely happy to be transparent with this, and for people to get second opinions, and to help my referral sources better understand that whilst I have a highly unique set of special interests and training I am not a registered specialist in any of these areas.

It’s not only good for patients to make fully informed choices, but for our specialist colleagues who appreciate the recognition for their additional three years of full-time specialty training.

02/10/2024