From Sippy Cups to Sleep Apnea: How Childhood Habits Shape Adult Health with Dr. Julia Sadove-Lopez
Episode #23: Show Notes
I recently had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Julia Sadev Lopez, founder of Oris Wellness, who opened my eyes to a fascinating area of healthcare that most of us have never heard of: airway dentistry. Dr. Julia consults with parents to help them make informed decisions about their child's oral and airway health, and what she shared with me completely changed how I think about breathing, dental health, and child development.
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What Is Biological and Airway Dentistry?
Dr. Julia's journey into this field began when she relocated from Indiana to Chicago and stumbled upon a holistic dental office. Coming from traditional dental school training, she had no idea what "holistic dentistry" even meant. But what she discovered there changed everything.
Biological dentistry focuses on the interaction between different dental materials and our bodies. This includes considering how metal fillings might impact our health and how what's happening in other parts of our body affects our mouth. From there, Dr. Julia discovered airway dentistry, which examines how the roof of the mouth is actually the floor of the nose, making our breathing function intimately connected to how our jaws form and develop.
The research Dr. Julia participated in with Dr. Kevin Boyd was eye-opening. They compared anthropological skulls from the Penn Museum to modern day patients, and the differences were striking. Historical skulls showed no crowding, with room for all teeth including wisdom teeth, forming beautiful arch shapes. Today, we see everything squished up, making braces the new normal.
As Dr. Julia puts it, "Common isn't normal." What we're seeing isn't strictly genetic - there are other factors at play in our modern world.
Understanding Craniofacial Development
Craniofacial refers to the bones of our skull (cranium) and the bones of our face. While we might notice when we break a bone in our arm or leg, we rarely think about the many small bones in our skull and face and how they develop.
We often assume bone development is predetermined genetically, but there's much more involved. How we use our muscles during development, how we chew, swallow, and breathe, plus impacts from our environment all influence growth through the use of soft tissues and their function.
Nose Breathing vs. Mouth Breathing
One of the most important distinctions Dr. Julia wants us to understand is the difference between nose breathing and mouth breathing.
Our nasal cavity takes up a lot of space inside our skull. And it isn't just for smelling-- it serves multiple crucial functions:
Humidifies the air we breathe
Filters debris from the environment
Creates natural chemicals like nitric oxide that affect blood vessel health
We're actually designed to breathe through our nose. When we breathe through our mouth instead, we're using our backup system, which doesn't serve us as well.
What Happens When We Mouth Breathe
When we mouth breathe, several problems occur:
More particulate matter from the environment enters our system
The throat and lungs can become irritated
Tonsils and adenoids may swell to protect us from debris that should have been filtered
This creates a cascade of effects that becomes harder to reverse
Many people who nose breathe during the day become mouth breathers when they lie down to sleep. This can be incredibly disruptive to sleep quality. When people mouth breathe at night, they're more likely to snore, which is your body's warning sign that there's resistance to airflow.
How Poor Breathing Affects Sleep & Development
The effects of poor breathing vary by life stage:
In children:
Interrupted sleep
Bedwetting issues
Attention and learning problems during the day
In adults:
Cardiovascular effects
Daytime fatigue
Risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea
Breathing Problems & ADHD Connection
One of the most surprising connections Dr. Julia shared was the overlap between breathing problems and ADHD symptoms. There's a strong relationship with sleep interruption. When children don't develop their jaws properly and experience sleep interruption, it can manifest as hyperactive behaviors rather than just fatigue.
This seems counterintuitive - no one thinks a child with "too much energy" isn't getting enough sleep. But interrupted sleep in children is more likely to show up as hyperactivity than tiredness. Many children with attention disorders are already likely to have sleep issues, but this connection often goes unrecognized.
Early Prevention: What Parents Can Do at Home
Dr. Julia emphasizes that early intervention is key. Here are some practical changes parents can make:
Proper Pacifier Use
While pacifiers are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics early on to protect against SIDS, weaning should start around six months of age. However, most children use pacifiers much later than this. Extended pacifier use affects tongue position, and since the tongue should rest on the roof of the mouth to drive proper growth, prolonged pacifier use can interfere with natural development.
Food Texture and Chewing
Our ancestors chewed for about four hours a day, while our modern meals are quick, on-the-go, and consist of soft foods. Here are some ideas to get closer to that way of eating:
Baby-led weaning: Introduce solid foods earlier with safe texture variety
Avoiding prolonged soft diets: Even at older ages, ensure texture variety in meals
Chewing on both sides: Many people develop a preference for chewing on one side, which sends different growth signals to each side of the face
Limit Use of Sippy Cups
Sippy cups were developed for parent convenience, not child development. While they're fine for car rides, at home try to use open cups or straws instead of sippy cup spouts. These activate different muscles and promote more natural swallowing patterns
Modern Life's Impact on Development
Dr. Julia points out that our modern lifestyle presents challenges our ancestors didn't face:
Posture problems: "Text neck" and forward head posture from screens
Less physical activity: More time in "containers" like car seats instead of crawling and exploring
Dietary changes: Softer foods that require less chewing
Reduced oral exploration: Less natural development of oral motor skills
Treatment Options for All Ages
While early intervention is ideal, it's never too late to address breathing and airway issues:
For Children:
Growth modification through dental appliances
Myofunctional therapy to retrain muscles
Addressing underlying structural issues early
For Adults:
Myofunctional therapy: Working with specialized physical therapists (often speech therapists or dental hygienists) who focus on retraining mouth and breathing muscles
Dental appliances: Devices that reposition the jaw to open airway space
Breathing retraining: Learning proper nose breathing techniques
Myofunctional therapy alone has been shown to reduce the metrics used for classifying sleep apnea. Many adults suffering from sleep apnea symptoms never learn about these alternatives and are only offered the CPAP machine as a solution.
The Inflammation & Nervous System Connection
Proper breathing affects our entire body system. When we breathe correctly through our nose with longer exhales than inhales, we activate our "rest and digest" nervous system rather than staying in "fight or flight" mode.
Poor breathing patterns can contribute to:
Chronic inflammation
Headaches and chronic pain
Cardiovascular disease
Stroke and dementia risk
General fatigue and stress on the body
Dr. Julia reminds us that oxygen is our most important nutrient - we just breathe it instead of digesting it. When we breathe inefficiently, our body operates in a constant state of subtle oxygen deficiency, leading to fatigue and inflammation.
The Role of Fascia in Oral Development
Fascia, the connective tissue that runs throughout our body, plays a crucial role in oral development. There's actually fascia that runs from the tip of our toes to the tip of our tongue.
Tongue Ties
A tongue tie occurs when the fascia under the tongue doesn't dissolve properly during development, potentially restricting tongue movement. While dental school traditionally only recognized severe cases where the tongue tip was visibly restricted, we now understand there's a spectrum of restriction that can affect:
Breathing patterns
Digestion
Overall oral function
Torticollis and Body Asymmetry
Tight fascia can also manifest as torticollis, where a child consistently favors one side, always looking in the same direction or feeding on the same side. This can create asymmetries that affect growth and development throughout the body.
Geographic and Cultural Differences
Interestingly, Dr. Julia notes that Europe banned mercury fillings, and many European dentists have never even placed a metal filling. This shows how different regions approach dental health differently.
She also references the work of the Weston Price Foundation, based on a dentist who traveled the world studying indigenous tribes unexposed to Western culture. These populations had completely different teeth and jaw development compared to Western populations, showing that our modern issues aren't inevitable.
Connecting with Qualified Providers
Dr. Julia works with families virtually, primarily in North America, though she helps people worldwide connect with resources. She emphasizes that this isn't just about dentistry - it often requires a multidisciplinary team including:
Fascia release providers
Physical therapists
ENT doctors
Allergists
Myofunctional therapists
Many families come to her after getting conflicting opinions from different providers. She helps them understand their options and navigate treatment decisions that feel most aligned for their family's needs.
The Importance of Early Education
What struck me most about my conversation with Dr. Julia is how much of this information wasn't available when my children were young. The simple awareness that how we feed, breathe, and develop in early childhood affects our long-term health is something every parent should know.
Dr. Julia offers a free ebook guide with practical steps parents can take at home without needing to visit medical providers. This kind of early education and prevention could help many children avoid the sleep, attention, and breathing problems that have become so common today.
Key Takeaways for Parents
If you take nothing else from this information, remember:
Nose breathing is crucial - for children and adults
Early intervention matters - but it's never too late to make improvements
Modern conveniences like pacifiers and sippy cups should be used mindfully
Texture variety in food supports proper development
Sleep problems in children might manifest as hyperactivity rather than fatigue
Breathing retraining is possible and powerful at any age
The connection between breathing, development, and overall health is much deeper than most of us realize. By understanding these connections, we can make informed decisions that support our children's optimal growth and our own wellbeing.
Meet Our Guest: Dr. Julia Sadev Lopez
Dr. Julia is the founder of Oris Wellness, a consulting company dedicated to empowering parents with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions about their child's oral and airway health. Through one-on-one sessions, she provides objective guidance on treatment options and helps families connect with qualified airway-focused providers. Her mission is to bridge the gap between professional expertise and parental intuition. Originally trained in Biological and Airway Dentistry while practicing in Chicago, she now calls Portugal home.
Connect with Dr Julia:
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn
Free Ebook: The Healthy Mouth Manual: A Guide to Healthy Habits at Home for Your Child's Best Dental Development
Meet Our Host: Jennifer Robin O’Keefe
Jennifer Robin serves as a relatable, down-to-earth, REAL Wellness & Success Coach. She’s not a fancy, perfect makeup, airbrushed kind of woman. She’s been told many times, in a variety of environments, that she’s easy to talk to, and makes others feel welcome and comfortable. Her mission in life is both simple and profound: to make others feel worthy.
Professionally, Jennifer holds several wellness certifications including Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Tapping, Thought Field Therapy (TFT) Tapping, Reiki, and more. She continuously expands her knowledge in the fields of Qi Gong, Xien Gong, Vibration/Energy Wellness and Natural Health. She also studied extensively with Jack Canfield, and serves as a Certified Canfield Trainer, authorized to teach "The Success Principles."
She’s an active reader and researcher who loves to learn, and one of her biggest joys is teaching and sharing what she’s discovered with others.
