Dr. Katie To became a better dentist after having a son. She used to give parents simple advice, then realized how hard it actually was when her own kid needed tongue-tie treatment and myofunctional therapy at five. Now she adjusts her recommendations to fit what families can actually handle.
I noticed that when I became a mom, my connection with the parents, with the patients that also have children, are different. Because I used to tell them, oh, do this for your kid, or do that. And they was like, it's not that easy, Katie. And then when I became a mom, I'm like, you're right. You're right. You're absolutely right. My son, he has tongue-tie. And I was— I am still overachiever. So I said, OK, let's start myofunctional therapy for him when he was 5. And our myofunctional therapist was like, oh, these are the exercises you're going to do for him. And I said, oh, let's do that. Goodness, it's stressful for him, for me. And we had to wait for him to be more mature to do it because it creates such a stressful situation at home for my schedule, for him.
