Tonsils and adenoids are often treated as just an ENT issue. But they can be part of a much bigger picture involving sleep, oral function, and dental development.

In this episode, we’re looking at what tonsils and adenoids actually are, why they enlarge, and how to think about them more holistically.

In this episode, we cover:

• What tonsils and adenoids actually are
• When it’s normal for them to grow in childhood
• Why they can become enlarged
• What a more holistic, team-based treatment approach can look like

Work with Mel at The Face Place:

Foundations for Growing Faces Masterclass: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/foundations-for-growing-faces-masterclass ⁠⁠⁠⁠

Oral Function Consultations: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/online-oral-health-services ⁠⁠⁠⁠

Social media handle: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thefaceplace_oht⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Most people think crowded teeth are just genetic: something to deal with later. Something that ends in braces.

In this episode, we’re looking at what crowded teeth actually reflect and why this often starts much earlier than people realise.

If you’ve ever been told to “wait and see” or that your child will likely need braces one day, this episode will help you understand what might already be happening now.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why baby teeth are meant to have spaces between them
• What crowded teeth can tell us about jaw growth
• The different ways misalignment can show up

• Why the “wait and see” approach can miss important early signs

Work with Mel at The Face Place:

Malocclusion Blog: https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/blog/malocclusion-in-children

Foundations for Growing Faces Masterclass: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/foundations-for-growing-faces-masterclass ⁠⁠⁠

Oral Function Consultations: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/online-oral-health-services ⁠⁠⁠

Social media handle: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@thefaceplace_oht⁠⁠⁠⁠

Many parents are told that jaw alignment and tooth position only matter once adult teeth arrive. But the foundations for how teeth align later are already being shaped much earlier.

In this episode we talk about how breathing patterns, muscle function and jaw growth all work together during the early years.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why baby teeth should have gaps

• How breathing patterns influence facial development
• The relationship between jaw size, airway space and sleep quality

• Why breathing, sleep and dental development should be considered together

If you’ve been told to simply “wait until the adult teeth come in,” this episode may help explain why early patterns are still worth paying attention to.

Work with Mel at The Face Place:

Malocclusion Blog: https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/blog/malocclusion-in-children

Foundations for Growing Faces Masterclass: ⁠⁠https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/foundations-for-growing-faces-masterclass ⁠⁠

Oral Function Consultations: ⁠⁠https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/online-oral-health-services ⁠⁠

Social media handle: ⁠⁠⁠@thefaceplace_oht⁠⁠⁠

In this episode, we explore why nasal breathing is foundational to healthy sleep.

Concerns around restless sleep, teeth grinding, night waking, and daytime behaviour are some of the most common reasons families come to see me. They are also some of the most misunderstood.

Breathing, sleep quality, jaw development, and dental health are deeply connected. Yet they are often discussed in isolation.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why nasal breathing matters
• What mouth breathing during sleep may signal
• Common airway contributors including adenoids, tonsils, congestion, and jaw structure
• How facial development influences breathing
• Sleep behaviours to look for
• Why poor sleep quality affects regulation and behaviour

FACES and SLEEPING Signs

Work with Mel at The Face Place:

Foundations for Growing Faces Masterclass: ⁠https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/foundations-for-growing-faces-masterclass ⁠

Oral Function Consultations: ⁠https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/online-oral-health-services ⁠

Social media handle: ⁠⁠@thefaceplace_oht⁠⁠

Most of the sleep, breathing and oral function concerns I see in older children didn’t begin at five. They began much earlier.

In this episode, I’m connecting the dots between early feeding difficulties and later challenges such as:

• Sleep disordered breathing
• Mouth breathing
• Fussy eating
• Behavioural challenges
• Crowded teeth

We explore why feeding is such a foundational developmental stage, how early patterns can influence growth, and why many signs don’t look connected at the time.

Work with Mel at The Face Place:

Foundations for Growing Faces Masterclass: https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/foundations-for-growing-faces-masterclass

Oral Function Consultations: https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/online-oral-health-services

Social media handle: ⁠@thefaceplace_oht⁠

Jaimee Stakelum earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Canberra in 2007 and graduated with distinction in Dental Hygiene from Curtin University in 2010. Jaimee then spent 12 years working as a Registered Dental Hygienist in a specialist orthodontic practice before discovering her passion for Orofacial Myology in 2020. Today, as the owner of Happy Faces Orofacial Myology in Canberra, Jaimee is dedicated to helping clients overcome orofacial dysfunction, supporting their long term health and well-being.

We dive into:

• The impacts of teeth grinding during sleep

• The causes of teeth grinding during sleep

• The importance of multidisciplinary management

• Next steps for you or your child

Resources:

• Jaimee’s Teeth Grinding Guides

• Circadian Kids

• Dr Max Gulhane

Work with Mel at The Face Place:

Free downloads: https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/parent-resources

Oral Health Consultations: https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/online-oral-health-services

Social media handle: @thefaceplace_oht

Connect with Jaimee here:

Website: https://www.happyfacesom.com.au/

Social media handle: @happyfacesom

Kimberley Howard is an Occupational Therapist and founder of Creativity and Beyond Occupational Therapy based in Mackay, Queensland. She has a strong passion for working with families with young children, finding ways to help get the most out of daily life, strengthen the family unit and build connection with the community. As an Occupational Therapist, Kim understands the lifelong skills that can be acquired through effective therapy and takes pride in offering a high quality service to all families she works with.

We dive into:

• Correct use of the terms neurodiverse, neurodiversity and neurodivergent

• The differences between neurotypical and neurodivergent brains

• Dental experiences for neurodivergent people

Resources:

• Yellow Lady Bugs

• SGR Occupational Therapy

• Lived Experience Educator

• Onwards and Upwards Psychology

• Neuro Wild

• Neuroinclusion

• Square Me, Round World

• Hi, This is Me! Social Journal

BONUS: Health Professional Resource

Work with Mel at The Face Place:

Free downloads: https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/parent-resources

Oral Ties Masterclass for Babies: https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/oral-ties-masterclass-for-babies

Oral Health Consultations: https://www.thefaceplaceofm.com.au/online-oral-health-services

Social media handle: @thefaceplace_oht

Connect with Kimberley here:

Website: https://www.creativityandbeyondot.com/

Social media handle: @creativityandbeyondot

Kellie Bentley is the director of her practice Unlock Learning and Health. She is a primary school teacher and reflex integration practitioner. Over 8 years ago, Kellie began to question what was causing more and more students to struggle academically, socially and emotionally. She started studying the brain and discovered the importance of having a mature central nervous system for learning and functioning.

We dive into:

• What are primitive reflexes

• How do primitive reflexes become retained

• The impacts of retained primitive reflexes

• How to address retained primitive reflexes

⁠BONUS: Health Professional Chat⁠

Work with Mel at The Face Place:

Free Downloads | The GP Guide | Oral Health Consultations

Social media handle: ⁠@thefaceplace_oht⁠

Connect with Kellie here:

Website: ⁠https://www.unlocklearningandhealth.com.au/⁠

Social media handle: ⁠@unlock_learning_and_health⁠

We would love you to share this episode with your friends and family. Please leave a review for us, send us a message over on Instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thefaceplace_oht/⁠ or head to the website for more information about our services ⁠https://thefaceplaceofm.com.au/⁠

We’ll see you next time!