Mind Your Mouth

Why do so many clinicians in the airway world feel like they don't belong? And what if that's exactly the point?

In Episode 32 of Mind Your Mouth, Melissa Mugno sits down with her dear friend and colleague Samantha Weaver, a speech pathologist and myofunctional therapy educator with 17 years in the field, a leader with the Academy of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (AOMT), and host of the Myo Coffee Klatch.

Sam's path into myo is one of the most unconventional in the field. She has a graduate degree in theater, got her SAG card at age 10, and worked as Tilda Swinton's stand-in. Then the 2008 crash dried up her industry and pushed her toward speech pathology. Over drinks, Joy Moeller pointed out Sam's narrow palate and forward head posture. Soon after, Dr. Bill Hang's "face in freefall" lecture helped Sam realize she had lived with untreated myofunctional disorders her whole life.

From there, Melissa and Sam take on the questions every myo clinician is asking:

- Who is "allowed" to practice myofunctional therapy?

- Where do dentists, hygienists, speech therapists and dental assistants each fit?

- Which parts of the swallow belong in myo, and when should you refer?

They also cover breathwork for Ehlers-Danlos and hypermobility, why Buteyko is "cheerleading" and myo needs a "dance squad," and why the body has to feel safe before it can re-pattern.

In this episode:

- "We belong because we don't belong": the misfits of the airway movement

- Why science needs more storytelling, and the brain is wired for story

- Dentists' seat at the table in healthcare, and why so many are scared to start

- StrengthsFinder, team building, and why your heart is the CEO

- Oral motor vs. myofunctional therapy: why speech pathologists are trained away from it

- Scope of practice, licensure, and myo around the world (Japan, Brazil, France, UK)

- Why orthodontic dental assistants deserve a seat at the myo table

- Chewing, the oral prep phase, and when to refer for a swallow evaluation

- Fear-based leadership, keyboard warriors, and an abundance mindset

- Diaphragmatic breathing for Ehlers-Danlos and connective tissue disorders

- A lip tape story from a single session

- Inside the Myo Coffee Klatch: nearly 300 sessions since 2020

- A unified body of knowledge, the IAOM, and Sam's doctoral work in neurorehabilitation

Myo Coffee Klatch: live on Zoom every Saturday at 8:00 AM Pacific. Anyone can join live. Recordings and CEUs are available through a low-cost annual program.

Mentioned: Joy Moeller, Dr. Bill Hang, Dr. Soroush Zaghi, Dr. Kevin Boyd, Sarah Hornsby, Myobrace, Trinny Woodall, AOMT, IAOM, MyoMentor

Connect with Samantha Weaver:

https://aomtinfo.org/

https://www.instagram.com/myo.maven/

https://www.instagram.com/my.aomt/

CONNECT WITH MELISSA MUGNO
Instagram: Melissa_the_mouth
Facebook: Melissa The Mouth
Faceologymyo
Book a Myofunctional Consultation
Melissamugno.com
[email protected]

If this episode helped you, please subscribe, like, and share it with someone who feels alone in this work or is wondering where they fit.

#MyofunctionalTherapy #AirwayHealth #MindYourMouth #SpeechPathology #OrofacialMyology #TongueTie #AirwayDentistry #DentalHygienist #Breathwork #AOMT

What if the reason you want to become a myofunctional therapist is the exact reason you'll fail?

In Episode 31 of Mind Your Mouth, Melissa Mugno sits down in Miami with Renata Nehme, RDH, BSDH, COM®, OMS™, founder of Myo Moves and Airway Circle, for the podcast's first-ever in-person interview. Renata was the #1 most-requested guest in Melissa's audience poll, and this conversation shows why.

Renata shares her journey from a 14-year-old leaving Brazil for the U.S. to a dental hygienist who found her calling in myofunctional therapy, then built a virtual practice that has treated 900+ patients across 42+ countries. She and Melissa get honest about faith, turning pain into purpose, handling online haters, and the money mindset that holds so many clinicians back.

Then they have the conversation few people in the airway space want to have: where is myofunctional therapy going? Renata opens up about burnout and why she's changing how she practices, how AI and technology are reshaping care, why hygienists shouldn't leave their salaries chasing myo income, and why every hygienist AND dental assistant should be screening for airway.

In this episode:

- Why "doing myo for the money" is a recipe for failure

- How Airway Circle started on Clubhouse, with Dr. Michael Gelb as its first speaker

- Selling vs. serving, and money as an energy exchange

- Creating levels of therapists to support airway dentists

- Finding your niche and leveling up beyond one course

- MM Inc.'s goal of AIR Certified, airway-centric practices by 2027

- Airway Circle's Foundations of OMT, Myo Circle, and the new OMS™ (Orofacial Myofunctional Specialist) credential

Mentioned: Dr. Soroush Zaghi, Sarah Hornsby, Dr. Tom Colquitt, Dr. Michael Gelb, Dr. Bill Hang, Dr. Stanley Liu, IAOM

Connect with Renata Nehme:

Myo Moves (virtual myofunctional therapy): https://www.myo-moves.com
Instagram: @myomoves

Airway Circle (education + community for airway professionals): https://www.airwaycircle.com

Instagram: @airwaycircle

CONNECT WITH MELISSA MUGNO
Instagram: Melissa_the_mouth
Facebook: Melissa The Mouth
Faceologymyo
Book a Myofunctional Consultation
Melissamugno.com
[email protected]

If this episode helped you, please subscribe, like, and share it with someone who's building a myo career or feels alone in this work.

#MyofunctionalTherapy #AirwayHealth #MindYourMouth #DentalHygienist #TongueTie #AirwayDentistry #OrofacialMyology #SleepDisorderedBreathing #MyoMoves #AirwayCircle

Your body will protect the airway at all costs — and your teeth are just telling you the story of how it did it.

🎟️ TONGUE TO TOES 2026 — October 16–17, London. Spots are nearly gone → https://www.tongue-to-toes.com

In this episode, Melissa Mugno sits down with her longtime friend and collaborator Dr. Suraj Vatish — London-based dental surgeon, tongue tie surgeon, and founder of the Tongue to Toes conference — for a conversation that ranges from infant aerophagia to fascia, Ayurveda, orthodontic dogma, and what it actually costs a clinician to practice outside the status quo.

Suraj came into airway dentistry sideways. He was an implant dentist doing periodontal work when a colleague mentioned tongue ties, and courses with Dr. Richard Baxter and Dr. Soroush Zaghi opened a door he hasn't walked back through. Today he runs the tongue tie centre at Happy Kids Dental in London and is publishing real-world data on aerophagia — air swallowing — in infants after frenectomy.

Melissa and Suraj get into why the UK still treats airway work like witchcraft, why "show me the research" is usually fear wearing a lab coat, and why structure is the side effect of dysfunction rather than the cause of it. They talk about Angle identifying the tongue as a driver of malocclusion in the 1800s and the profession quietly forgetting it. They talk about what happens to a clinician's livelihood when a regulator disagrees. And Melissa gets honest about her own son — the expansion she wishes she'd pushed for earlier, the MARPE coming at nine, and the fact that even with access to everyone in this field, there is no cookbook.

In this episode:

• Why the body will sacrifice tongue position, jaw position and head posture to keep the airway open
• Aerophagia in infants — what Suraj found across 300+ cases and why "it's not published yet" isn't the end of the conversation
• Fascia: the layer dental school mentions once and never returns to
• Crowding and flared teeth as an oxygen adaptation, not a cosmetic accident
• The tongue-space problem in orthodontics done without a functional exam
• What actually changed UK orthodontists' minds about early functional treatment
• Fear, regulators, and the real cost of being a disruptor in dentistry
• Breath as currency — and what it looks like when a body is running a deficit
• Red light therapy after tongue tie release: less pain, less inflammation, less reattachment

🎟️ TONGUE TO TOES 2026

October 16–17, 2026 · The Rembrandt Hotel, Knightsbridge, London

A two-day multidisciplinary diagnostic programme built for the whole clinical team — dentists, paediatricians, speech and language therapists, lactation consultants, osteopaths, chiropractors and bodyworkers. Infancy through adulthood.

In-person faculty: Dr. Suraj Vatish · Melissa Mugno · Dr. Jenna Davis DC · Toni-Ann Antoniato SLP · Dr. Justin Roche · Dr. Erick Galindo MD · Dr. Juancho de Quixano · Kate Roche IBCLC · Heidi Nowalany IBCLC · Katrina Rogers SLT · Amberin Fur DO

Virtual faculty: Dr. Richard Baxter · Dr. Soroush Zaghi · Prof. Derek Mahony · Dr. Biju Krishnan · Dr. Neel Bulchandani DC · Dr. Stephanie Joy Sweeney · Jennifer Tow IBCLC · Heidi Skudder · Lucy Samantha Rayner

https://www.tongue-to-toes.com Instagram: @tonguetotoes_london

CONNECT WITH DR. SURAJ VATISH
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tongue.tie.specialist/
American Smile: https://www.americansmile.co.uk/dr-suraj-vatish/
Happy Kids Dental: https://happykidsdental.co.uk/the-lip-tongue-tie-team-2/

CONNECT WITH MELISSA MUGNO
Instagram: Melissa_the_mouth
Facebook: Melissa The Mouth
Faceologymyo
Book a Myofunctional Consultation
Melissamugno.com
[email protected]

Mary explains the physiology most clinicians never learned: how chewing a Myo Munchee stimulates the trigeminal and facial nerves, fires a barrage of sensory input straight to the brain stem, and forces nasal breathing and a correct swallow at the same time. Melissa shares how the device became her single best diagnostic — the thing she could put in a patient's mouth to make dysfunction visible to a parent in under a minute.

They go deep on why dentists struggle with myofunctional therapy (compliance, compliance, compliance), what an overactive gag reflex is actually telling you, and why "two is too late" led Mary to develop the Bebe Munchee. Plus a first look at Handbook for the Human, Mary's new evidence-based parent resource built around sleep, movement, nutrition, play, and connection — and an early teaser from the Myo Munchee research study Melissa project-managed alongside Dr. Kevin Boyd.

If you've ever wondered how to actually use a Munchee, why chewing gum isn't the same thing, or what Munchee certification means now that the whole education pathway has been rebuilt — this is the episode.

In this episode:

• The 1950s jawbone that started it all, and why the prongs exist
• How Myobrace was born — and what got lost when chewing was removed
• Why an overactive gag reflex is information, not a dead end
• "Date your breath" — Melissa's first-two-weeks protocol
• Sharon Moore's 26 muscles: your daytime swallow is your nighttime airway
• The Bebe Munchee, and why it's clinician-only
• Practitioner Protocols vs. Oral Motor Foundations vs. the Dental Discovery Program

What if your patient isn't "non-compliant"—what if their nervous system simply isn't ready to learn?

In Episode 28 of Mind Your Mouth, Melissa Mugno sits down with Brittny Sciarra Murphy, RDH, COM®, QOM®, Buteyko Educator, founder of CT Oral Facial Myology, co-owner of MyoWare, and faculty with Airway Health Solutions.

Together they explore why myofunctional therapy isn't just about the tongue. They discuss nervous system regulation, motor learning, breathing patterns, airway health, patient compliance, practice growth, collaboration, and where the future of oral facial myology is headed.

Topics include:

• Why nervous system regulation impacts therapy success
• Functional breathing vs. nasal breathing (Buteyko)
• Motor learning and neuroplasticity in myofunctional therapy
• Airway dentistry and interdisciplinary care
• Tongue ties, oral posture, lips, jaw, and the oral container
• Managing dysregulated patients
• Building a successful myofunctional therapy practice
• Provider collaboration and overcoming skepticism
• IAOM certification and the future of oral facial myology
• AI, social media, and growing a modern healthcare practice

Whether you're a myofunctional therapist, dental hygienist, dentist, orthodontist, SLP, OT, PT, airway provider, or parent, this conversation offers practical insights into improving patient outcomes through a whole-body approach.

🎧 Subscribe to Mind Your Mouth for conversations on airway health, myofunctional therapy, breathing, sleep, oral function, and practice growth.

Guest: Brittny Sciarra Murphy, RDH, COM®, QOM®, Buteyko Educator
CT Oral Facial Myology | MyoWare | Airway Health Solutions

Keywords: myofunctional therapy, oral facial myology, airway dentistry, airway health, nervous system regulation, Buteyko breathing, functional breathing, tongue tie, oral posture, motor learning, neuroplasticity, dental hygienist, airway orthodontics, IAOM, breathing exercises, sleep-disordered breathing, pediatric airway, myofunctional therapist, dental practice growth, healthcare entrepreneurship.

Connect With Melissa Mugno:
Instagram: Melissa_the_mouth
Facebook: Melissa The Mouth
Faceologymyo

Book a Myofunctional Consultation
[email protected]

Connect With Brittny Murphy
CTOM: https://www.ctorofacialmyology.com/
School of Myo: https://airwayhealthsolutions.com/myo-new
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ct_orofacial_myology/

Sleep-disordered breathing makes Melissa bananas — and by the end of this episode, you'll understand why. Melissa sits down with Dr. Karen Parker Davidson, a critical care nurse, Air Force flight nurse, and airway researcher turned founder of Faceology, to reframe everything you think you know about "mouth breathing."

Karen breaks down four-phase rhinomanometry, why nasal resistance is your body's fingerprint, and how she built the Daphne AI score after five and a half years of research and 754 papers reviewed. They get into the FDA-approved vs. FDA-cleared distinction most of the airway space gets wrong, why "are you a mouth breather?" is the wrong question, the gut-nose axis, why tongue ties aren't the villain everyone made them out to be after 2016, and how nervous system regulation, trauma, and fight-or-flight physiology tie directly back to how — and how well — we breathe.

If you're a myofunctional therapist, dentist, ENT, or parent trying to figure out whether your kid's mouth breathing is a red flag or a phase, this conversation will help you. 

In this episode:


-Dr. Karen's path from trauma nurse to Air Force flight nurse to airway researcher
-FDA-approved vs. FDA-cleared — and why the difference matters for every airway product on the market
-Four-phase rhinomanometry, nasal resistance as a biomarker, and why ChatGPT's "normal values" are wrong
-The MAVRIC nasal exam and the F.A.C.T. method for screening
-Why breathing is a scale, not a yes/no question
-Red flags parents can watch for: teeth spacing, columella position, percentage of time mouth is open
-The gut-nose axis and the smell-vs-taste connection to picky eating
-ADHD, over-diagnosis, and why airway isn't always the answer
-Tongue ties, "crazy tongue," and the nasal valve phenomenon
-Where to find Dr. Karen and Faceology's virtual care across 44 states

Connect with Dr. Karen Parker Davidson:
Website: drkpd.com | Brand: Faceology

Connect with Melissa "The Mouth" Mugno:
Mind Your Mouth Podcast | MM Inc.

Some names in dentistry are simply iconic. Gelb is one of them.

In this episode of Mind Your Mouth, Melissa Mugno sits down with Dr. Michael Gelb — internationally recognized authority on TMJ, airway, and sleep, and son of the legendary Dr. Harold Gelb, the man who treated jaw dysfunction as whole-body medicine decades before the field was ready to listen.

Fresh off the PAANY conference in New York, Melissa and Dr. Gelb go deep on the story most patients never hear: how dentistry quietly shoved the jaw backward starting in 1924, why 80% of airway and sleep issues still go undiagnosed, and how the same dysfunction behind a clicking jaw can show up as anxiety, ADHD, exhaustion, and poor sleep.

This is a masterclass in why the airway movement matters — told through the lens of two generations of jaw work and one very personal journey.

In this conversation:

• The Harold Gelb legacy — and what it cost to be 50 years ahead of your time
• The 1924 origin of "centric relation" and why most night guards may be closing your airway
• Why TMJ is rarely the problem — it's the symptom
• The orthodontic "guild" and the new generation finally calling out their own
• Why early intervention beats waiting — and why it's never too late
• The ADHD–sleep connection, and the screening that should happen before a stimulant prescription
• Dr. Gelb's full treatment ladder: from mandibular advancement and myofunctional therapy to MARPE, GLP-1s, and brain-health optimization
• Faceology's family rule: why they won't treat a child unless the parent becomes a patient too
• Brain health, mental health, and the case for living "heart-first"Whether you're a clinician, a myofunctional therapist, or a parent who just has a feeling something's being missed — this one will change how you see the mouth.

🎙️ Mind Your Mouth — where the mouth meets the whole body.
 Subscribe, share, and tag someone who needs to hear this.

This episode is for educational purposes and is not medical advice.

Connect with Dr. Michael Gelb:
Instagram: Thegelbcenter
The Gelb Center
Drmichaelgelb.com

Connect With Melissa Mugno:
Instagram: Melissa_the_mouth
Facebook: Melissa The Mouth
Faceologymyo

Book a Myofunctional Consultation
[email protected]

#MindYourMouth #DrMichaelGelb #AirwayHealth #TMJ #SleepApnea #MyofunctionalTherapy #AirwayDentistry #SleepDisorderedBreathing #Faceology #BreatheBitch

In this solo episode, Melissa Mugno breaks down why your tongue is just like your abs — and how a weak or "flabby" tongue creates a domino effect through your posture, breathing, jawline, and even your facial aesthetics. She explores facial screening, central nervous system regulation, low tongue posture, mouth breathing, and why myofunctional therapy is the missing piece in long-term orthodontic stability. Melissa also opens up about her own journey with tongue tie, anxiety, breathing patterns, and body dysmorphia — connecting the dots between structure, function, and behavior. If you're dealing with snoring, poor sleep, jaw tension, clenching, or just want a more sculpted jawline the right way, this episode is your roadmap. Don't just fix a problem — do the work. You're worth it.

🎙️ Hosted by Melissa Mugno | Mind Your Mouth Podcast
 📍 Recorded live in Miami

#MyofunctionalTherapy #AirwayHealth #TonguePosture #MindYourMouth #SleepBetter #JawlineSecrets #BreatheRight #OralHealth #PostureMatters #DentalPodcast #FaceologyMethod #SnatchedJawline #OrthodonticsAndMyo #HolisticHealth #PodcastForWomen

Connect With Melissa Mugno:
Instagram: Melissa_the_mouth
Facebook: Melissa The Mouth
Faceologymyo
Book a Myofunctional Consultation
[email protected]

What if the way your face looks is actually a window into how well you breathe? In this episode of Mind Your Mouth, host Melissa Mugno sits down with the esteemed Dr. Stanley Liu, dentist, physician, oral maxillofacial surgeon, and ENT sleep surgeon for one of the most expansive, eye-opening conversations yet at the intersection of airway health, facial aesthetics, and whole-body wellness.

Dr. Liu breaks down why the airway is fundamentally a muscle problem, why beautiful facial structure and optimal function are two sides of the same coin, and why the future of healthcare lies in uniting cosmetic providers, airway surgeons, and myofunctional therapists in the same room. From jaw expansion and TMJ to Botox, facial mapping, and smile design, this episode connects the dots between what you see in the mirror and how you sleep, breathe, and feel every single day.

If you've ever wondered why your face looks asymmetrical, why you contour differently on one side, or why "looking good" and "functioning well" aren't separate goals, this conversation is for you.

Connect With Melissa Mugno:
Instagram: Melissa_the_mouth
Facebook: Melissa The Mouth
Faceologymyo

Book a Myofunctional Consultation
[email protected]

Connect with Dr. Stanley Liu

https://www.drstanleyliu.com/

Instagram: Dr.StanleyLiu

What if the tongue tie was never the real problem? In this episode of Mind Your Mouth, host Melissa Mugno sits down with Dr. James Thomas — pediatric dentist, airway pioneer, founder of HealthLatch, and author of the new book Why Babies Suck — for an honest, story-driven conversation about infant feeding, oral dysfunction, and why so many struggling moms get told to just accept "colic."

Dr. Thomas (JT) opens up about his journey from a traditional pediatric practice to becoming a self-described "relentless problem solver" who built his career on systems, storytelling, and going after the source of a problem instead of slapping on a Band-Aid. Together they unpack why releasing a tongue tie is rarely the whole answer, how to take families from intuition to awareness to advocacy, and what it really takes to build a thriving, transparent, story-based airway practice.

Whether you're a dentist, myofunctional therapist, lactation consultant, or a parent who has ever felt unheard, this conversation will leave you seeing the mouth — and whole-body health — in a completely new way.

What we cover:

• Why "the problem isn't tongue tie" — and what actually is
• Oral dysfunction as the real root cause of airway and feeding issues
• The intuition → awareness → advocacy framework for educating families
• Building a story-based, radically transparent practice
• The book Why Babies Suck and the power of validating moms
• Therapy-first care and knowing when NOT to treat

Dr. James Thomas's book, Why Babies Suck, is available now on Amazon.

Subscribe to Mind Your Mouth for more conversations connecting the mouth to your words, your health, and your whole-body wellbeing.

Connect With Melissa Mugno:
Instagram: Melissa_the_mouth
Facebook: Melissa The Mouth
Faceologymyo

Book a Myofunctional Consultation 
[email protected]

Connect with Dr. James Thomas:
www.healthlatch.com 

LINKED IN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjamesthomas

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/healthlatch

INSTAGRAM: @health.latch

YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/@healthlatch