My Experience

My name is Stacey Fletcher, and I live and work in Northwest Arkansas. I have always been fascinated with teeth and oral health, and I became a Registered Dental Hygienist in the Spring of 2009.

When I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene, I wanted to do nothing more than help people achieve optimal oral health. I practiced dental hygiene in private practice for 3 years before taking on a position with the National Health Service Corps and working in an underserved area for 5 years.

During that time, my son was born. I planned extensively for the perfect birth, but I never read anything about breastfeeding. I knew I wanted to breastfeed, but I just thought you did it or you didn’t. It would come naturally, right? You don’t need to LEARN how to breastfeed, do you?

Boy, was I wrong. I struggled immensely with breastfeeding. I had to be induced due to medical complications, which affected my milk coming in. I had insulin resistance, and no one told me that it would impact my milk supply. My son had a lip tie and posterior tongue tie, but no one looked in his mouth when I complained of pain. He struggled to gain weight and cried non-stop. No one told me how hard it would be to do something I thought was supposed to come so naturally.

Thankfully, I attended a La Leche League meeting when my son was 6 weeks old. A fellow mother mentioned that she thought my son might be struggling due to these “ties.” I thought she was crazy. I was a dental professional, for goodness’ sake. I would know if his mouth were the culprit—wouldn’t I? However, she was correct and I was misinformed.

I delved into the websites available at that time (Dr. Bobby Ghaheri and Dr. Larry Kotlow). These were fellow dental professionals telling me that these frena (that I thought all along served no purpose but caused no issues) could be the source of our problems. We had my son’s lip tie corrected at 2 months of age, and it saved our nursing relationship. Unfortunately, I still struggled because I did not receive complete care via adequate bodywork and lactation support. However, we went on to have a nursing relationship that spanned 3.5 years. It wasn’t easy. We used donor milk to supplement (thanks to some awesome friends and strangers). I cried. But we well exceeded my original goal of 6 months.

After the initial hurdles were overcome, I started to wonder what I could do as a dental professional to solve these problems. Why did I not know that these tissues that I worked around every day could impede adequate infant feeding? I came across the term “orofacial myofunctional therapy” on a Facebook page in 2014. I’d never heard the term, and didn’t realize it was something a dental hygienist could learn. I took my initial training in 2015 when my son was 2 years old, and it was life changing. I could have such a greater impact with my patients: I could help them breathe better, sleep better, have less orthodontic relapse issues. However, with all of that knowledge that came with multiple subsequent courses, I still couldn’t prevent problems. Therefore, I started my lactation training to help infants get the best start possible. I still work with children and adults to correct their myofunctional impairment, but now I also work with infants to assess and address early feeding problems. With the appropriate intervention we can have a much better chance at preventing myofunctional disorders, or at least lessening their severity. I have been fortunate enough to work with many amazing mentors in my career and am so thankful for all of the wisdom I have encountered over the years.

My current goal is to serve families, from infancy through the golden years. I hope to help them achieve optimal oral health and optimal oral function at every stage of life. I try to focus on the whole picture. Everyone has a puzzle they need to complete to find ideal healing, and I am grateful to be part of your journey. I’ve been there. I am still there. Healing never ends. Thank you for allowing me to join you.

My Expertise

Education

BSDH (Bachelor of Science, Registered Dental Hygienist) – Graduated Magna Cum Laude with High Honors from UAMS, Little Rock, Arkansas

Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy

  • IAOM certification track
  • AOMT (Academy of Applied Myofunctional Sciences) advanced training in Sleep Apnea, TMJD, Orofacial Pain
  • AOMT training in OMT, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, TMD/Orofacial Pain, and Posture
  • AOMT Advanced Course: Identifying and co-treating the symptoms of sleep disorders
  • Myofunctional Research/Myobrace training
  • Epigenetics, Chewing, & OMT
  • Principles of Neuroplasticity and OMT

Lactation

  • IBCLC Masterclass Training- Oral Rehabilitation
  • Gut-Brain for IBCLCs
  • Virtual IBCLC – Efficient Support for Remote Clients
  • IBCLC – 2017
  • Certified Breastfeeding Specialist
  • Holistic/Functional/Integrative Lactation Certification Course
  • 10-day residency training
  • Tongue Tie – Implications for Breastfeeding & the Development of the Airway
  • Best Practices in Pediatric Feeding, Motor, Speech, and Mouth Development/Function

Airway and Sleep

  • Airway Architecture: Breathing, Sleep, Physiology & Function
  • Obstructive Sleep Apnea
  • Overview of Clinical Aspects of Normal Human Sleep
  • The Impact of Undiagnosed Sleep Disturbance in Children
  • Human Airway Development: The Role of Craniofacial Growth and Phylogenetic Considerations

Additional training and education

  • Craniosacral Fascial Therapy (for infants and adults)
  • Gut Health and Healing for Breastfeeding (and ALL!) Families
  • A Physical Therapy View on Myofunctional Disorders, TMD, and Posture
  • Brain and Sensory Foundations, Level 1
  • Brain Gym
  • International Affiliation of Tongue-Tie Professionals 2016 Summit
  • Academy of Applied Myofunctional Sciences Congress 2017