The Untethered Podcast™

Meet Chaya Stern, Occupational Therapist and feeding specialist who brings with her an enthusiasm and compassion for guiding “picky eaters” into exploring different foods. Chaya shares her own experience from her own “picky” eating experience in childhood to parenting a “picky eater” of her own! This led her to create EatersandFeeders.    She discusses why children may be picky eate...

Today Hallie talks with Dr. Brita Destefano PT, DPT, PCS as they discuss all things Tethered Oral Tissues (TOTs) and infant development. As a part of the TOT's care team, PTs play a role in helping children with concerns related to posture/neck tension (e.g., torticollis), feeding, digestion, head shape (e.g., plagiocephaly),  and other motor delays or disorders that may be at play. Dr. Brita...

Join Hallie and learn from Dr. Joseph Yousefian, D.M.D., M.S. about the evolution of treatment for narrow mandible and maxilla.  Dr. Yousefian takes us through his own story and contributions to treatment development for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), introducing the ongoing paradigm shifts in this treatment space and the need for an army of providers.  Longer than our usual episodes,...

 Today Hallie chats with Dr. Courtney Donkoh, DDS.  Dr. Donkoh practices in the south suburbs of Chicago with a focus on expansion to achieve optimal mandibular growth. Dr. Donkoh paints a beautifully vivid yet easy to understand image of the orofacial anatomy and what optimal mandibular growth and development. Dr. Donkoh recognizes the value of myofunctional therapy as an integral part...

Today Hallie chats with Dr. Karen Benitez, DDS, QOM.  As a pediatric dentist, Dr. Karen shares her perspective on tethered oral tissues (TOTs) and orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMDs). Like many providers, it was her own child who led her to begin researching and educating herself on TOTs and OMDs. Dr. Karen discusses TOTs, OMDs, Craniofacial growth patterns, audible breathing concerns an...

HAPPY 200 episodes to The Untethered Podcast! In honor of 200 episodes over 3.5 years (we haven't missed a week!) Hallie is talking about one of our most asked about topics: TONGUE TIES! With growing awareness, there is still confusion as to what qualifies as a tethered oral tissue (e.g., tongue tie) versus a typical frenula. In this short episode, Hallie highlights what you MUST know about tongue...

Join Hallie for a very special episode! Dr. Victor Avis, DDS and his daughter Sydney Avis share their voice to tell the story of Airwayrevolution.org.  It ranges over a 30 year period and includes Sydney’s own health journey to ultimately discovering the root of her health issues in the form of an airway disorder.  This led to an understanding of a worldwide epidemic that no one was addr...

Join Hallie and Dr. Steven Olmos, DDS as they discuss the relationship between facial pain, respiration, nasal obstruction, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and more! Dr. Olmos has dedicated the last 30 years to research and treatment of craniofacial pain and sleep-related breathing disorders. In 2023, he retired from clinical practice to continue his focus on advancing the fields of pain and sleep t...

Dr. Rishita's practice provides pediatric dentistry to both typically developing and special needs children. In March 2020, we all had to get creative and learn the best way to continue to serve our pediatric patients, especially infants in need of tethered oral tissue releases. Dr. Jaju and Hallie discuss how they adapted, what worked well and how their practices have evolved as a result these pa...

Join Hallie as she talks to Dr. Molly Hayes, functional airway dentist out of Omaha, Nebraska.  Mollie shares her own journey and how she went from being a traditional dentist to an airway-centric dentistry.  She shares her own philosophies and practices for her patients and her family, touching on sleep, breathing, healthy diets and slowing down to enjoy each other and life! A good conv...

Join Hallie as she talks to Jessica Dillon, Speech-Language Pathologist and Integrative Health Coach. Jessica shares her journey into holistic health and how that practice connects with her speech-language practice. Together, Hallie and Jessica discuss treating the root cause and building a team of providers not just for your own family's journey but for your clients as well. This episode is fille...

Hallie answers a common question: "Can we continue orofacial myofunctional therapy ("myo") when a patient has a palatal expander?" Join Hallie to find out the answer!  Do you have questions you want  Hallie to address? Send her a message on Instagram @halliebulkin! Enjoy this short and sweet but info packed episode! Please click here to download the show notes. For more episodes visit ww...

Join Hallie as she jumps into the connection between tongue ties and speech. A review of sounds and tongue placement that can be affected by tongue tie is given as well as an explanation of why compensation is not “good enough”. She reminds us that research is important but so is clinical experience and finding the root cause; especially for those patients who have been in speech therapy for a LON...

Hallie continues her mini-series. Join her for a short but impactful discussion on what symptoms are common in our society but are NOT normal. She shares several signs and symptoms of sleep disordered breathing and orofacial myofunctional disorders that are often written off as being "common" and thus patients are constantly dismissed or gaslit by medical professionals. Learn more about when to se...

Enuresis or bedwetting after age 4 years (and up to age 9!) is considered common by many health practitioners. Common does not mean "normal" and begs the question; what is the root cause? Hallie breaks down nighttime bedwetting after preschool age and shares research on the correlation between sleep disordered breathing (SDB) and bedwetting. Next steps to take to help your child or a child on your...

Liana Sved is a physical therapist and orofacial myofunctional therapist specializing in working with patients who present with temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). She joins Hallie for a fascinating conversation on the effects of TMD on the body and overall optimal function. They cover everything from how TMD pain can be felt in other parts of the orofacial structure, the importance of educati...

Rebecca Bockow, DDS is an orthodontist and periodontist based in the Seattle, WA area. Dr. Bockow is a strong proponent of early intervention, treating younger pediatric cases while collaborating with a team of educated providers in the airway health space to support these pediatric cases. Dr. Bockow and Hallie discuss what can be done if a child is in their first few years of life and too yo...

Amy Best is an Otolaryngologist (ENT), caring for both adults and pediatrics. In her practice, sinus and nasal surgery are the largest volume of patient procedures. Her practice also includes other traditional ENT treatments like thyroid surgery, tonsillectomy, and adenoidectomy. Amy is now diving deep into the airway and myofunctional therapy (“myo”) world and applying her knowledge to her d...

Join Hallie as she talks to Kathleen Dung M.S, CCC-SLP.  Kathleen was one of the first speech-language pathology students to graduate from the Feed the Peds® Course. She jumped right into the course and into the world of pediatric feeding, right out of graduate school in her Clinical Fellowship (CF) year. Kathleen shares what she learned in Feed The Peds® and gives advice for new graduates as...

Gina Motsay is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and mom of four littles, including twins! Gina joins Hallie to share her experience as both an IBCLC and Mama of babies with TOTs. They share their children's TOTs journeys and what they learned from that experience that has helped shaped their professional practice and story. Please click here to download the show n...

Today Hallie is joined by Dr. Laura Glazebrook DPT.; a pelvic floor trained physical therapist and scoliosis specialist. Dr. Glazebrook shares her personal history with scoliosis as well as her journey as a mom of children with tethered oral tissue (ToTs). She also provides information on the connection between the pelvic floor and the jaw as well as the possible connection between scoli...

Join Hallie as she discusses when and why a tie (tongue, lip , buccal) should be released. She breaks down the factors considered before sending a patient for a release consultation as well as what SLPs, OTs and Myofunctional Therapists can do to help patients in their journey to overall health.   Parents and adult patients listening will learn questions to ask their SLPs, OTs and/or Myofunct...

Join Hallie as she talks with Kelly Quolas, RDH about all things Myo, ToTs, Airway and Vivos from a personal and professional viewpoint. They share their own experiences, including how treatment has affected their lives and what they have learned that benefits their daily practice. If you're an adult with an orofacial myofunctional disorder considering expansion and myofunctional therapy, thi...

Today Hallie is joined by Kelsey Daniels, a pediatric Physical Therapist. Kelsey started a private practice for moms and babies after her second son was born with a tongue tie. Her experience opened her eyes to the impact of Tethered Oral Tissues (TOTs) on development, the fascial connection between our tongue and our toes and ultimately pelvic floor health.  Hallie and Kelsey also discu...

Join us today as Hallie provides an outline of typical chewing development.  She compares phasic bite, munch chew, diagonal chew and adult-like circular rotary chew as well as when we should expect to see each pattern emerge. A quick foundational breakdown of chewing development and why they are important!  Please click here to download the show notes. For more episodes visit www.untethe...