Function & Flourish Therapy

07/20/2026

A *few* key takeaways from a tongue tie lecture this weekend. Making sure you have a properly-trained provider who uses proper equipment and is focused on restoring FUNCTION and not just “snipping some tissue” is SO important 👏🏼👏🏼

Thank you for reminding us that the details matter, Dr. Baxter, Dr. Suraj Vatish, Airway Academy!

07/20/2026

It was an honor to join Airway Academy today to hear lectures from two of the greatest doctors in the tongue tie space, Dr. Baxter and Dr. Suraj Vatish!

07/13/2026

We love having Courtney come to Blairsville once a month to see local patients. She’s the best!

✨I wanted to say hi again! I’m Courtney, the owner and provider behind Rooted Home Services. I am an occupational therapist trained in Craniosacral Fascial Therapy (CFT) who supports clients holistically and offers a calm, safe and supportive environment. I became an OT and ultimately started Rooted to offer something different from the traditional busy, chaotic and sometimes rushed care environment people receive today. That’s partly why I started by solely offering in-home sessions, where clients feel most comfortable and calm. Adding CFT to my practice was a no brainer after I first attended the training to support my own child and family on our journey. Today, to better serve clients, I offer both office-based and in-home sessions within a limited travel radius.

🧠 I’ve dedicated my learning time to the mother baby dyad, infant/child development and milestones, fascial release, myofunctional goals, and overall oral motor function. I continue to seek opportunities to better support my clients in achieving their goals every day.

🤍 If you’re a busy mom, an adult living with chronic pain or stress, a burnt-out caregiver, a parent unsure how to support their child, or someone looking for alternatives to the traditional medical model, I am here to help. I offer personalized one on one care, gentle support, guidance and education to help you reach your goals in an unrushed, calming environment. Let’s jump on a free phone consultation today!

🌿 As a mom of two littles myself, I understand firsthand how our nervous system affects our children, and how taking time for self-care doesn’t always feel easy, but it’s important. I still struggle to balance being a wife and mom while maintaining my own goals—working out, enjoying nature and relaxing with a good book—on top of being a business owner. I am not perfect but I will be there to cheer you on. My goal with each client is to be a listening ear, a friend, a cheerleader, and to provide the utmost compassion, empowerment and care possible. I love meeting my clients where they are and finding a course that suits their needs. If you’re curious about working together, let’s chat!

06/14/2026

Such a thorough explanation of teeth grinding in children. “Common” does not mean “normal.”

What does teeth grinding-related tooth wear in children tell us?

Today I had a couple of new patient consultations prompted by concerns about teeth grinding and significant tooth wear.

Teeth grinding is one of the strongest red flags in the mouth that a child may be experiencing disturbed breathing during sleep.

It is often thought to be a stress response to increased resistance to airflow. There is a brief arousal from sleep, and the grinding helps recruit the muscles of the jaw and airway in an attempt to restore airflow. In this sense, it may be protective against obstructive sleep apnoea or more prolonged collapses of the airway.

Although there may be no obvious dips in oxygen levels, this process can still be associated with repeated sleep disruption, chronic stress on the body, and difficulties achieving deep restorative sleep.

The pattern of tooth wear can sometimes provide additional clues.

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body - even harder than bone. So when we see teeth being worn flat, I often wonder whether chronic acid exposure may also be contributing to the accelerated wear.

In this case, several teeth had worn through the enamel and into the softer yellow dentine layer beneath. Some areas also showed erosive or more scooped-out dental wear consistent with airway reflux and acid pooling in the mouth.

Reflux in children may also be related to breathing difficulties.

When children have increased resistance to airflow and are working harder to breathe, they generate increased vacuum pressures within the chest and airway. This may promote stomach acids being aerosolised into the throat, nose and mouth.

Signs and symptoms associated with airway reflux can include:

✅ Frequent throat clearing or chronic cough
✅ Postnasal drip
✅ Irritation or enlargement of the adenoids and tonsils
✅ Increased tooth wear and dental erosion
✅ Increased risk of dental disease and need for fillings
✅ Bad breath, particularly in the morning
✅ "Spew burps" or a bad taste in the mouth

Often these issues do not bother children. However, when significant tooth wear is present, it is important to investigate whether breathing difficulties could be a contributing factor.

If so, addressing underlying risk factors such as enlarged adenoids or tonsils, allergies, poor jaw development, mouth breathing, low tongue posture, and oral dysfunction may be important parts of the solution.

In dental school, we were taught that teeth grinding was a common childhood phase that most children would simply grow out of. However, when children do not breathe and sleep well, it can affect how they grow, develop, learn, behave, and feel.

I believe every dentist teeth needs to at last consider grinding as a clue that a child may not be breathing or sleeping as well as they could.

If we ask the right questions, we may be able to identify children at risk and help them achieve a better night's sleep.

For those interested in learning more, here's a previous podcast episode targeted to new graduate dentists that I was invited to be part of, to help shed light on children's teeth grinding and its relationship with breathing and sleep:

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/tip-125-childhood-bruxism-a-case-study-with-dr-shereen-lim/id1453166863?i=1000615180407

05/22/2026

Part 2 exposing some of my pet peeves🫣

04/03/2026

Hills I will die on as an airway-focused provider and mom:

03/13/2026

🫁When you belly breathe, your diaphragm fully expands and moves downward. This allows your lungs to fill more completely with air, saturating the blood with more oxygen to transfer throughout your body.

🧘🏼‍♀️Diaphragmatic/belly breathing also stimulates the vagus nerve, which activates your parasympathetic nervous system — the “rest and digest” side of your nervous system. This helps shift your body out of chronic fight-or-flight mode, lowering stress hormones, heart rate, and muscle tension.

02/25/2026

🫁The tongue is small, but has a huge impact on overall wellness.

👀Where does your tongue rest when you’re not eating, drinking or speaking?

👅If the tip of your tongue isn’t resting behind your TOP front teeth with the rest of the tongue sealed to the roof of your mouth, then you probably need myofunctional therapy.

📩Message us and schedule a FREE discovery call!

02/20/2026

“The more you learn about airway, growth, and neuromuscular patterns, the more you realize… this isn’t supplemental knowledge.

It’s foundational.”

At first, myofunctional therapy can feel like an “add-on.”
A niche.
An extra certification.

But the deeper you go, the more you see it everywhere.

In the child with crowded arches.
In the teen who relapses after ortho.
In the adult with chronic tension, clenching, or poor sleep.

Breathing patterns influence growth.
Tongue posture influences development.
Neuromuscular habits influence long-term stability.

This isn’t fringe education.
It’s the missing layer beneath so much of what we already treat.

And once you see it… you can’t unsee it.

The more you know the better you can do. 💜

02/17/2026

Function>appearance every time. When you book an assessment with me, I look at over 20 points of function in your orofacial complex.