Created for those who recognize that the journey of guiding life into the world and raising humans is a sacred responsibility that requires education, support and guidance. Health prevention and healing start on the birth continuum.

“It is in tending to mothers and children that we tend to Life.”

Our health, the way we birth, and the way we are born imprints our life, health and the collective consciousness.

The mother is the life force of the family. In many cultures, when an infant or child is displaying symptoms, the healer will treat the mother first. Health prevention begins before we are born and follows us through life. One way to prevent oral-systemic disease in young children is to educate and help improve pregnant women’s oral health and habits, before conception & through pregnancy. Oral health is an important part of prenatal care, given that poor oral health before & during pregnancy can lead to poor health outcomes for the mother-baby dyad through life.

In understanding the physiological blueprint for health, pregnancy, and birth, we are invited to take an empowered lead, walking the straightforward path with clarity and sovereignty through this initiation.

Though we cannot escape our collective culture nor the unique circumstances we find ourselves parenting in, it is our responsibility as parents, caregivers (and practitioners) to shift the collective culture, so that our ways of living support the highest expressions of life, in any capacity we can.

Oral hygiene is more than caring for our teeth. In many cultures, the mouth is the portal to enlightenment. The spiritual significance of dental health is deeply rooted and tied to the broader notions of identity & connection with both the natural world (the physical teeth) and the spiritual realm (their energetic connection to the heights & depths of the body).

A “care plan”, whether before, during or after birth, is the action behind the prayer of a healthy Mother, Baby, Father, Family and Community.

Our daily health habits become the physical act of embodied devotion in support of life. What the dental hygiene care plan refers to as implementation of the treatment plan & evaluation of health goals, ancient wisdom refers to as living in right relation, aligning daily habits with natural law, order and truth for individual and collective good.

About

This work can look different for everyone, as it is multidimensional, nuanced and highly dependant on where you are at in your own journey. It is meant to guide and support you in moving through this phase of life with curiosity, awareness and intention, helping you to reach your health goals for yourself and your child.

You might be in a place where you are considering conceiving, are pregnant or newly postpartum and are seeking support. You may not know where to even begin with it all, or you may be a new parent without support and feeling alone. You may want to understand deeper how our health & daily habits shape our pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience, or perhaps you have a complicated medical and dental history and want to take proactive steps for you and your child. You may find yourself curious about the early postpartum months- what to expect, common infant symptoms of this century, how to best support their breathing, feeding and sleep rhythms before and after birth, arming yourself with preventative and acute care tools to empower your journey. The postpartum months are months of great transformation and change. You may be curious about how to best support yourself during this time- your energy, sleep, nutrition, restoration and healing. You may simply be looking for someone to bear witness to your experience with you, and be with you as you navigate the many complexities and the divinity of this time.

I offer 1:1 services to anyone seeking education, support and guidance.

Services

New Client Initial Appointment

This service is intended for:

• Those who are considering conception, or those who are pregnant

• Those experiencing adverse dental health symptoms, chronic or acute health symptoms, immune challenges and sensitivities

• Those exhibiting symptoms such as on-going or recurrent caries (cavities), orofacial pain and sensitivity, headaches, or migraines; periodontal disease, gum recession, dry mouth, chapped lips, mouth breathing, congestion, snoring, tongue-ties, speech concerns, crowding of the teeth and small jaws, postural issues, skin conditions, allergies, digestive concerns, clenching & grinding, TMD/TMJ/Joint pain, popping or clicking, restless sleep, sleep apnea, pelvic floor and bladder concerns, choking and gagging, difficulty eating or swallowing, chronic fatigue and low energy, low iron levels, or are considered a high risk pregnancy

• Those looking for tools and protocols for health prevention, maintenance and healing

• Those who have experienced lack of improvement after seeing multiple practitioners and engaging in a multitude of programs & protocols

• Those who feel their oral home hygiene is sufficient, yet continue to receive abnormal findings at dental visits

• Those feeling overwhelmed by the options available to you, and whom are looking for tailored guidance to restore your health and wellness

And Includes:

Complete Comprehensive Initial Assessment, including Medical & Dental Review (maternal & paternal), Airway & Orofacial Myology Exam, Complete Periodontal (gums/surrounding tissues) Assessment, Intra/Extra Oral Exam, Oral Cancer screening, Diet & Caries Risk Assessment, Smoking Cessation (as indicated), Airway and Skeletal Class Occlusion, Review of your main concerns, health goals and desires before, during and after pregnancy.

With the information shared at our initial meeting, an individualized care plan will be created including an outline of root causes of symptoms, oral-systemic health protocols, oral hygiene education, healing tools, oral hygiene home care, exercise, lifestyle, pregnancy, birth and postpartum supplements and herbs along with any guidance, recommendations and referrals. Individualized re-care frequencies will be presented based on findings.

Oral Hygiene Education (OHE)

Topics of OHE at the initial and concurrent visits include, and are not limited to (1) Understanding physiological birth, human lactation & breastfeeding (2) The adrenal glands and their role in birth and postpartum (3) Foundations of nutritional support & healing tools before and after birth (4) Pregnancy, demineralization and oral health (5) Supporting the family’s mental, physical and spiritual health before, during and after birth (6) Finding the right care team before & after birth (7) Oral ties, infant breathing, feeding and sleep (8) Breastfeeding & feeding support through the ages (9) Infant development during & after birth (10) Oral milestones & their connection to mental/systemic health (11) Colic and infant digestive system issues (12) Supporting infant-mother sleep (13) Building a support network

Comprehensive Infant Exam, Lactation Consulting and Infant Feeding

The infant’s birth plays a critical role in shaping their nervous system, which in turn affects their ability to breathe, latch, feed, sleep & optimally develop. These early experiences are pivotal for establishing healthy lifelong functions related to these patterns. After breathing, baby’s ability to optimally feed is their first Earth-side milestone. Initiating breastfeeding is a complex dance between the mother-baby dyad, with multiple factors influencing the depth, length and duration of the connection. This act directly influences baby’s oral and bodily health for the rest of life.

This service provides evaluation of the infant airway, oral-ties, feeding and sleep. Treatment includes, where indicated, lactation consulting, supporting the breastfeeding connection, addressing the root cause of maternal and infant breastfeeding difficulties, establishing appropriate infant behaviours for sleep, breathing and feeding, addressing structural issues such as oral ties and skeletal misalignment and orofacial myofunctional manual therapy to re-establish optimal muscle function and use for the head and neck.

In-Home Postpartum Care

Developing a care team can be exhausting and difficult. This service is offered for those lacking hands on support in the home that best supports the mother’s restoration& healing and the baby’s arrival into the world. In home support can include (1) Meal preparation and mother’s nutrition for restoration, remineralization and healing pre and postpartum (2) Infant sleep, feeding and breathing support (3) Overnight (8pm-6am) infant care to help establish earthly cycles for breathing, sleep and feeding, (4) General housekeeping (4) Maternal company, health and well-being support. This service is typically offered weekly or bi-weekly, for the first 0-3 months of the infant’s life, though on-going support is available.

Fees & Coverage:

These services are multidimensional: (1) Conventionally recognized dental hygiene services follow the current Ontario Dental Hygienist Association Fee Guide. Almost all insurance companies cover the cost of dental hygiene services provided by independent dental hygienists in Ontario. Checking the fees covered by your insurance company and the individual plan you have prior to your appointment will help you determine what will be covered at your booked appointment. (2) Services such as those pertaining to in-home infant care may not be covered. Fees are charged for the time spent on treatment and the services rendered. (3) All treatment is client-specific. 

This service is offered through Independent Home Care only.

Coverage Option: For many, preventative home-care services may not be covered through insurance, depending on the services rendered. Consider engaging your support networks to cover the cost of care. For example, you might ask family and friends to put money toward covering the cost of early in-home postpartum care in lieu of traditional gifts. See below for more information on Reimagining Systems of Care.