Is Your Little’s Tongue Position the Missing Piece to Their Disrupted Sleep With Dr. Alison Sigal

What does your baby’s tongue position have to do with their sleep? Actually, quite a bit. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Alison Sigal, a pediatric dentist and airway specialist,  for a conversation about airway health and sleep. I find this to be a really important and under talked about reason for frequent waking, feeding challenges, and unsettled behavior. We discuss:

  • Why tongue ties matter.

  • What is good resting oral posture?

  • Why is good resting oral posture important?

  • How does mouth breathing affect sleep and development more broadly?

  • What should parents look for when trying to find an airway knowledgeable provider local to them? 

  • Basics that make up a good tie release.

I could have picked Dr. Alison Sigal’s brain for so much longer! I hope this conversation gives you insight into your littles behavior and clarity around ways to investigate oral restrictions more fully. 

About Dr. Alison Sigal 

Dr. Alison Sigal graduated from McMaster University with an Honours degree in Kinesiology before attending the University of Toronto, Faculty of Dentistry where she earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. She completed a hospital-based residency at Mount Sinai Hospital (Toronto) before completing her Masters of Science Degree with specialty training in Pediatric Dentistry. She is a fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada and currently a certified specialist in pediatric dentistry. 

Dr. Sigal established Little Bird Pediatric Dentistry in Milton, Ontario to provide comprehensive airway centric health care to children from birth onwards. She has dedicated her practice to the provision of this care, creating novel airway assessment tools, surgical techniques for tongue and lip ties, and myofunctional protocols including Buteyko breathing for best patient outcomes and long-term retention.

Dr. Sigal developed her clinic’s medical record software, that features the largest on-going airway centric patient database globally to date with continual research integration, treatment evaluation, and evolution. 

Her career goal is for the provision of airway centric pediatric assessment and treatment to become standardized with universal protocols; assisting the evolution of pediatric anatomy textbooks, academic curriculums, and hospital/health care models. 

Dr. Sigal has been an invited speaker internationally, at many multi-disciplinary conferences, meetings, and symposiums, and is regarded as one of the leaders in pediatric airway centric health care.

Connect with Dr. Alison Sigal 

Website: https://littlebirddental.ca/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/dralisonsigal/ 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@Dr.AlisonSigal

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LittleBirdMilton 

Resources related to this episode

Get the age by age self-assessment check lists mentioned here: https://littlebirddental.ca/airway-centric-health-care/

Connect with Kim 

Instagram: instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc
Facebook:  facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc

Learn more about working with Kim: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/