The Pediatric Breathing Project with Dr. Piya Gandhi, DDS

Chiropractic Care and Pediatric Wellness with Dr. Caroline Long [Ep 5]

• Dr. Piya Gandhi, DDS • Season 1 • Episode 5

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0:00 | 28:36

Pediatric Chiropractic, Tongue Ties & Airway: Dr. Caroline Long on Craniosacral Care, Fascia, and Infant Red Flags

Dr. Piya Gandhi interviews Dr. Caroline Long, a chiropractor and owner of West U Wellness with 25 years of experience, about pediatric and pregnancy-focused chiropractic care and its role in airway and tongue-tie care. Dr. Long shares her path into pediatric chiropractic, her additional pediatric certification training, and how she built trust with doulas, midwives, and parents. They discuss how pediatric chiropractic differs from adult-style adjustments, the gentle approach used with infants, and craniosacral concepts including skull plate motion, intracranial pressure, and indicators for early cranial work before bones fuse. Dr. Long explains preparation goals for tongue-tie revisions by addressing compensatory body patterns, jaw/neck/shoulder/pelvic mobility, and breathing mechanics, and describes fascia as a body-wide connective membrane that can contribute to tension patterns. They cover signs infants may benefit from chiropractic care (limited head turning, head tilt, mouth breathing, poor seal/dribbling milk, colic, reflux, prolonged feeding, chronic ear infections, constipation) and how chiropractic and PT can work together for issues like torticollis and plagiocephaly to potentially reduce or avoid helmet time. They also touch on buccal ties as often more flexible, typically managed with stretches and observation unless clearly restrictive, and share examples of children seeking care for symptoms like a choking sensation related to neck tightness and athletes optimizing performance. The conversation emphasizes increased awareness driven by social media, the need for scientifically valid education, and multidisciplinary collaboration among pediatricians, dentists, chiropractors, PTs, and other providers. The episode ends with guidance on finding a qualified pediatric chiropractor, mentioning ICPA coursework and craniosacral training leaders, suggested screening questions for parents, and West U Wellness’s location in Bel Air at Bel Air and South Rice.


00:00 Welcome + Meet Dr. Caroline Long (25 Years in Pediatric Chiropractic)
01:16 Her Origin Story: Scoliosis, First Chiro Experience, and Finding Pediatrics
03:28 What Pediatric Chiropractic Really Looks Like (Gentle Touch, Birth Patterns, Colic/Reflux)
05:05 Building a Pregnancy & Pediatric-Focused Team (Including Newborn Success Stories)
06:10 Craniosacral Therapy Explained: Skull Motion, Pressure, and Baby Head Shape Clues
07:36 Tongue-Tie Prep: Changing Body Patterns for Better Breathing, Jaw Function, and Posture
08:42 Fascia 101: The Body-Wide Connection from Tongue Tension to Movement Issues
10:18 When Ties Keep Pulling Things Back: Compensation Patterns + Her Daughter’s Posterior Tie
11:25 Airway, Palate Expansion, and Whole-Body Alignment (Jaw–Pelvis Link, Growth & Hormones)
13:31 Chiropractic vs Physical Therapy: Structure vs Muscle—and Why Collaboration Matters
15:13 Infant Red Flags: When Chiropractic Care May Help
16:26 Flat Head Syndrome (Plagiocephaly) & Torticollis: Why Early Care Matters
17:42 Buccal (Cheek) Ties: Stretching vs Release & What They Affect
19:11 Chiropractic for Kids: Neck Symptoms, Vagus Nerve & Young Athletes
20:21 Why More Families Are Seeking Alternatives: Social Media, Education & Collaboration
26:13 Finding the Right Pediatric Chiropractor: Certifications, Questions to Ask & Wrap-Up


Connect with Dr. Caroline Long of West U Wellness: 
Website: https://www.westuwellness.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/westuwellness/ 


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#childdevelopment #sleepdisorder #pediatrictherapy #podcast 

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The Pediatric Breathing Project with Dr. Piya Gandhi explores how airway health, jaw development, and sleep impact childhood wellness. Parents and practitioners will learn to spot early signs of sleep-disordered breathing and discover practical solutions for healthier futures.

If you’re a parent, dentist, pediatrician, or healthcare professional passionate about giving children the best start in life, this podcast is your guide to better breathing, better sleep, and better development.

Piya Trehan Gandhi, DDS

BOARD CERTIFIED PEDIATRIC DENTIST, AIRWAY AND TONGUE TIE RELEASE SPECIALIST

Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn | YouTube | Website


Resources from Dr. Piya Gandhi:



Dr. Piya Gandhi:

welcome back to the Pediatric Airway Breathing Project. I'm your host, Dr. Piya Gandhi, and today we have on, a good friend and colleague Dr. Caroline Long, who is a chiropractor and owner of West U Wellness. She has been doing chiropractic care for 25 years. 25 years. One of the, actually the most seasoned practitioner I know, and, has been doing work with pediatrics, infants, for a long time as well. So I'm really excited to have this conversation today. I personally knew nothing about chiropractic care and had never been to a chiropractor until I got into the. Airway and tongue tie world.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Yeah.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

So, I'm excited for her to share, , all of her knowledge with all of you today. So thank you for being here.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Thank you. I remember our first lunch together.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah. Yeah. So tell us, about yourself, about your 25 years in practice and I know you've also had a business journey along with that. And specifically would love to hear about your background in pediatrics and infant care.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Yeah, thank you. So I wanted to be a pediatrician growing up and I thought there was nothing better than working with kids., But then, you know, as I went through college and everything, I realized being on call at night was moving up for me. And, I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was 15. When did you know

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

that?

Dr. Caroline Long:

I went to a. My pediatrician diagnosed with, uh, me with a scoliosis and sent me to an orthopedic surgeon. So I went to an orthopedic surgeon who did x-rays and said, you're not that bad. Look at this other person who's doing surgery tomorrow. That scared me. Yeah. Um, and so my mom took me to a chiropractor that we knew, didn't realize that there were different flavors of chiropractors at the time, so he was more accident injury focused, and he said. You're 15, are you in pain? And I said, Nope. So he said, okay, bye. And that was, that was my first experience. It wasn't until I was looking into careers, I was about 20 years old and my sister's best friend's mother was going into chiropractic school, the second career. And she said, well, if you had gone to the chiropractor during those formative teenage years, you would be taller. And from someone who's five one. I would've loved to have been taller.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Every age counts.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Exactly. And so, then I was like, tell me more. Let me learn more about this chiropractic thing. So after going to chiropractic school, I was in the computer lab because there was a computer lab back then, and I heard some people talking about driving to Dallas for a pediatric seminar, and I thought. Why do chiropractors see kids like they're not in pain? And they said, for scoliosis. And I thought, oh, oh my gosh, gosh, this is what I'm meant to do. This is like, it was just a light bulb moment for me. So I went to Dallas every month and took the pediatric certification. It was far and beyond what we learn in chiropractic school. And then I was ready to conquer the world. And, um at that tender age, see babies and people said, have you had children? No, I just graduated from school.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah.

Dr. Caroline Long:

And they're like, yeah, no, you can't work on my kid, but I'm pregnant and I'm having lots of pain and you can work on me. So I built up, some rapport and trust with different doulas and midwives in town and pregnant women, and then they felt confident that I could treat their child. Pediatric chiropractic is so much different than what you see on TikTok or what you see on videos, and it's not like cracking a baby's neck. I just had a patient. Just a few minutes ago that said, my husband said, please don't do that to our baby's neck. And I'm like, that's not what we do at all. So, it was educating parents and the touch is so gentle because until they're two years old, their spine is not ossified. Meaning the calcium hasn't come in. It's like sharp's cartilage. It's very mobile, but it can be moved and shifted out of position if they were in utero incorrectly or if it was a difficult labor. They may have genetic things that they got and they're like, oh yeah, our whole family has a. Hip high on the left, like, well, maybe that can be, the whole family needs to come while the baby's young. So I started working on children that way and helping them with, scoliosis, sports injuries, then even younger children with reflux and colic, and finding ways to just relax their nervous system so that things can come online. We're not. Fixing or curing these things we're just trying to help them develop to their fullest potential. And then, several years ago we started hearing more about tongue tie. Yeah. And, oral tethers and restrictions and, and that chiropractors could help. And this was. Definitely not taught in any of the chiropractic school curriculum or even some of the pediatric certifications I told you.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah.

Dr. Caroline Long:

And so we really had to look into pursuing it on our own. And who was, the leaders of this, who was leading the charge, and how could we help in that space?

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah. That's so cool. And now you have, it's not just yourself, you have a full team.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Oh yes.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

So tell us a little bit about your team at the office and Well,

Dr. Caroline Long:

yeah, we, started thinking, okay, we can have a broad range and help a lot of people. We had, one chiropractor who was versed in sports, one who was good at acupuncture, and then myself, who I was, you know, going to take the label pregnancy and pediatric focus. But that was. 21 years ago. Yeah. And now we have five female chiropractors. Yes. Who are all pregnancy and pediatric Amazing. And, so we all have cranium sagal training and have all, worked with babies of all ages. I think our youngest was 17 hours old and that little girl was born at home and her midwife was like. Take her to Dr. Long tonight. She's not opening her mouth, right. Mm-hmm. And whether you're bottle fed or breastfed, if you can't open your mouth correctly,

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

okay,

Dr. Caroline Long:

yeah, that's not gonna work out so well. Yeah. So I did the lightest touch and I even was wondering if that helped. I'm like, I, I'm not sure I'm, I'm. Going through my training and she opened her mouth and latched. Wow. So it was wonderful to see that.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah. You mentioned craniosacral. What did, can you explain what that is?

Dr. Caroline Long:

Yeah. So the cranium people think is just a static skull, you know, once it gets to its full size. That's it. But there's gaps in the cranium. These are the primitive fontanels in babies where you think of the soft spot. Mm-hmm. Um, but if you look at an adult skull, there's always little cracks and fissures because there's movement that happens at these plates if you have a headache or a migraine. It could be that intracranial pressure that is building up, building up and creating a lot of pressure. Mm-hmm. The blood vessels. Are not pulsing normally. Um, whether too long bit big or too small, too restricted, so that when that pressure builds up, we can use light touch and cranial work to help dissipate the pressure and move that, it's not moving the bones necessarily, it's just helping balance the pressure. And so then. That you don't feel that pressure around your eye. You don't feel that pressure in your sinuses. And when it comes to the palate, that is part of the whole skull. Yeah. The sphenoid bone back there connects to 14 different bones in the skull. And so when a baby is born and it's a little bit off because the sphenoid isn't fused and we see that eye droop uhhuh, or the face is tilted, that's an indicator that wow, we might need to do some cranial work on that child before the bone fuses at one year of age.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

I could just listen to you talk for hours so, so informative. It's amazing.

Dr. Caroline Long:

No,

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

it's incredible. So, you mentioned that, you know, tongue D has become kind of part of the conversation in chiropractics.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Yes.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

And, we work together a lot on specifically infants, but also children and adults going through, tongue tied procedures and releases. So where do you see, you know, in your prep work, what are you really trying to achieve to, allow these patients to be sort of ready for this type of procedure?

Dr. Caroline Long:

Yeah, we're trying to change the patterns, right? And that's what you're doing with the revisions. Um we're trying to say, Hey, your tongue has not been moving in the way that it's supposed to. And as a result. Because the tongue's a muscle, everything around it. Mm-hmm. It has compensated and is also not moving. So you might be straining in your neck. The scales might be engaging and then you might be hunched forward. Mm-hmm. Because you're straining so much with your tongue and you're not breathing correctly through your nose. So if we can help change their body patterns so that they can take in more air, they can get full expansion, and they can move their jaw and in the way that they're supposed to, that's. Going to play a huge role. Yeah. It's just a domino effect.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Yeah.

, Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Can you touch on the concept of fascia and what that is and how it plays a role in movement and function and specifically sometimes also?

Dr. Caroline Long:

Sure. So what I like to tell people is if you ever cook chicken breast mm-hmm. There's that thin layer sometimes around the chicken breast, and that's fascia and your fascia. We used to just discard it, like it's, it's nothing. But it actually is this amazing membrane that connects ligament to ligament, and so it goes throughout the body. We talk about the posterior interior fascial lines, which can emerge from the tongue and come all the way around, down the back. Mm-hmm. All the way down to the legs. So if somebody is tight in their tongue, it can jerk them back and create a lot of pressure and tension. And we might see that in like that child who's tiptoeing. Yeah. Or the baby who instead of crawling

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

like stiff like a board also.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Right. The babies. Yeah. Right. I have a little more, she's like. Scooting on her bum and her butt, and it's like, oh, that's not the right way to crawl. So there could be a lot of tension that's going on in that fascia. And so that's why people do like myofascial release. The foam roller is what a lot of adults use mm-hmm. To help roll out their fascia., If you'll give me your arm for a moment, and if I twist your sleeve, that's like fascia, right? Mm-hmm. So underneath, I can be massaging your arm and I get that muscle loose and you're like, ah, it feels so good. But then you come back 'cause you're like, it still feels twisted. It came back again because no one addressed the fascia. And that needs to be addressed as well as the muscle. So we're learning more and more about how to engage the fascia and make sure it's as fluid as possible with the muscle and with the skeletal system. Yeah.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

So do you see if there is an untreated tie that it's hard to keep those adjustments or the, you know, the muscle relaxed. Because of the tension that that tide keeps kind of pulling back.

Dr. Caroline Long:

We do, because of all the compensation that's happened. People keep coming in with the same issues and we're like, okay, something's not right. We're doing our best with these adjustments. But maybe other things need to be looked into. Looked into. Mm-hmm. And that's what happened with my daughter when she was 10. And I was like, why is her neck hurting? I've been adjusting her. She's eating a healthy diet. You know, as minimal refined foods as possible. But she had an unresolved tongue tie that we didn't know was that that elusive posterior tongue tie. And so we had it revised at 10 and a half. But that was the start of my journey. Learning, learning all of this.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah, that's, I mean, it's, it interesting because, almost everyone I talk to, it's a, it's a personal thing that, you know, was like, oh wow, this, this is really impactful. You know? And then we start going down the rabbit hole of tongue ties and airways and breathing. And,, you know, when we talk about airway and breathing, yes, the tongue plays a role, but also, if we have an underdeveloped palette, sometimes we have to go in there and do some expansion work or even just, you know, from a. Traditional orthodontic standpoint, some kids need expansion to fit their teeth in. How would chiropractic care, aid in, the work of expansion and, what is the importance of doing chiropractic care during those types of, treatments?

Dr. Caroline Long:

Well, you asked a question earlier that I realized I didn't fully answer, and that was how to, you know, how would someone prepare for this? And what I see. Is, we know there's a connection between the jaw and the pelvics, pelvic diaphragm. Mm-hmm. And so we wanna make sure that in a child or an adult, their hips are moving. Well, if someone's not having good bowel movements, it could be because their pelvis is tight. And then as we move up into the chest cavity, we wanna make sure that their shoulders aren't. Sloped in that they're able to fully expand and move their shoulders well. And then that neck should rotate. In an adult, we should rotate to 90 degrees bilaterally. An infant should rotate to 110 degrees bilaterally. And so oftentimes people will be like, oh yeah, my kid turns their head. But when you actually assess, they don't turn their head all the way. And so if they aren't turning their head all the way, they're gonna grow up with that tightness and then they're going to use their shoulder more, and then they may be using one side of their, jaw and mouth more. Mm. So yeah. At least domino

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

effect.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Exactly. Yeah. So when you're talking about pallet expansion we know that the, maxilla drives mandibular growth. And so we want that maxilla to be open mm-hmm. Right. And wide, in the palate so that not only their bones can grow the way that they're supposed to, but everything rests and sits where, where it's supposed to too. And that helps hormone production. People, I think, sometimes don't realize that it's not just, the bones growing. Yeah. That's where the pituitary gland sits, and you want your hormones to be also hitting at the right times.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah, that's a really important point that I, you're right. I don't think that a lot of people really think about that. And just to touch on, you know, like I said, I was not really familiar with what chiropractic care was until I started all this, but, what is really the difference between. Chiropractic care and PT care, physical therapy care.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Oh, excellent question. As chiropractors we're looking at the skeleton, the structure and PTs are looking at the muscles. So I liken it to a house. You know, you need to have walls, but you also need to have beams, whether it's wood, steel, frame, whatever., It's really important to have both. So if you're building a house with. Wood beams. Mm-hmm. And steel structures. That's great. But now the air can get in and you need walls to support that and keep that upright. And that's where PTs come in and make sure the walls are there. But if you have walls without the structure, you do.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Someone can blow your house down. Um, so we wanna make sure that both are working in conjunction. So do you work in conjunction with PTs? We do. We have several PTs that we work with, and then oftentimes if we are stuck on a case, I'm like. I think their muscles aren't working. I'm going to refer 'em to physical therapy. And we had that relationship with physical therapist who were like, yes, something's just not right. They're not. Achieving the goals that we want. Maybe it's an alignment issue and maybe, chiropractic can help if your muscle's really tight in one area, it's going to pull, pull, pull, pull, pull. Mm-hmm. And then it can cause what we call subluxation of the bone, where things mildly shift out of place. It's a misalignment. Yeah. It's not a dislocation. You know, nothing you need like a collar for. Mm-hmm. Or a cast, but it's just out of place enough where. This whole structure's not functioning well.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah. And if you like, for infants for example, what are some indicators that Yes, a chiropractic, visit would be beneficial? I mean, I know when we note a tie, we refer for, you know, to make sure that everything is. Moving well and working well prior to doing a procedure. But, from a parent standpoint, if I just gave birth to a baby, I mean, my view is that everyone could use it, and I'm sure there's some benefits, but. What are some red flags for parents to look out for?

Dr. Caroline Long:

Absolutely. So if their jaw's not opening, like we mentioned. Yeah. If the child's not able to turn their head fully to one side or the other, if they're tilting and they seem to have a head tilt, even when they're relaxed. Then that's a indicator that there could be some strain there. If they are mouth breathing and you just see them in when they're sleeping and their little mouths are open, if they're dribbling milk and they're not able to make that nice seal, working with lactation and speech. Mm-hmm. There's some chiropractic things that we could do too. If they have colic, if they have reflux, if they're not, if they're taking longer than 20 minutes to nurse. Or down a bottle. Those are signs we see kids also for chronic ear infections and constipation.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

And what about, work on like a baby that has plagiocephaly or like a flat spot?

Dr. Caroline Long:

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Can chiropractic help, mitigate some of that?

Dr. Caroline Long:

Absolutely. The baby infant head grows 37% of its. Adult size, like a third of its size in the first four months.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

That's why the Airheads look so big.

Dr. Caroline Long:

That's why it looks so big, these bobblehead children. And then the growth slows down to 17% between four and six months, and then it slows way down. So we really wanna try and get these kids mm-hmm. As early as possible. Oftentimes we find that the plagiocephaly is because there's torticollis. Mm-hmm. Or some kind of strain in the neck. And that's where again, a conjunction with a physical therapist and a chiropractor can identify what is the reason for this torticollis? How can we fix that? So then the head can round out like it's supposed to if you're not putting pressure on that spot anymore. And then the bone is allowed to grow and move. So that's why we wanna see them early. And, and try and get that fixed before they have to wear a helmet. Helmet. But if they do have to wear a helmet, we can hopefully reduce the amount of time they're in their helmet. Sure, sure. By again, going to the source, working on the neck, and doing cranial work to help encourage bone growth in that area.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Interesting. Along those lines, it just made me think of, you know, tongue tie and lip tie. We have pretty clear like indicators for treatment and looking at certain muscle movement. What are your thoughts on the. Bcal or cheek ties and their role in tension and. Specifically neck, head, body tension?

Dr. Caroline Long:

Great question. Those bugle ties we sometimes find, right? Mm-hmm. Sometimes don't. I think that they can be pretty flexible and distensible, so we teach our parents if a child has that. How to stretch it. How to lift it and, and stretch it. And then we just wait and observe. Okay. And see if that's going to improve things or not. Is it now, that that child still can't flange their lips? Mm-hmm. After doing the stretches? Is it interfering with, them being able to nurse properly? Are they swallowing air because that buccal tie is just so tight. Um, sometimes it will stretch out, but you know, we often. Look to the experts like you to say, no, that one is just really

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

sure

Dr. Caroline Long:

restricted and is gonna need a release.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Do you see any specific correlation with those ties and tension in the head and neck area or? It's more so like lip mobility related.

Dr. Caroline Long:

I see more lip

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

mobility. Okay. Yeah. I'm just curious'cause I know that there's still a lot of variability on that, on those types of ties and their impact. I tend to be pretty conservative about treating them. Mm-hmm. But I was just curious from a body standpoint, you know, what the, what the impact might be. So, I mean, we talked about the infant indication for chiro, which I would say I'm more familiar with. What about for kids? Mm-hmm.

Dr. Caroline Long:

So more and more kids are coming in to see us because they're saying, mom, I just don't feel good like I, something's wrong. We have this little boy and he started coming in to see us when he was eight or nine, and he said, when I turn my head, I feel like I'm choking.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Interesting.

Dr. Caroline Long:

And so they took him to an ENT, they took him to his pediatrician and they couldn't identify it. It turns out that he was putting pressure on the vagus nerve, and so he was feeling like he was choking because there was tightness in his neck. Wow. And so he did some gentle manipulation and he was very, very nervous at first.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah.

Dr. Caroline Long:

But now whenever he gets that choking sensation, he's like, mom. I need to go to the chiropractor. That's

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

amazing.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Um we have a lot of young athletes, especially middle school age, they're really starting to get more serious with their sport. And they're like, mom, I need to go to the chiropractor, like my ankle hurts. And instead of just taking Advil or Tylenol, just like rub it, it'll go away. I think these kids are realiz. Hey. But when I go to the chiropractor, I feel so much better.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah.

Dr. Caroline Long:

And I wanna optimize how I perform.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah.

Dr. Caroline Long:

So we're seeing a lot more kids.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

I'm sure you've seen the progression just in the state of our medicine and how our community is looking at it from when you started to now. Yes. Can you talk to a little bit about, I mean, it sounds like even kids are more open or hearing about these types of treatments versus our traditional medicine. Yeah. Talk to me about some of the progression you've seen and what do you think is driving that

Dr. Caroline Long:

Social media?

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah, yeah.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Yeah. Absolutely. I think that the knowledge is not being held back. People are looking on their devices and they are seeing these TikTok videos, Instagram, and, they're being influenced by it for the good or bad, right? And so that's why we're very cautious about the content, what

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

you

Dr. Caroline Long:

put out there, put out there. Yeah. And make sure that it's all. Scientifically valid. And, we're not putting just like, fear-based stories. Yeah, sure, sure. Or anything., But I do think that a lot of parents are looking for alternatives and so we try and work in conjunction with their pediatrician. Definitely never against their pediatrician. Yeah. Because. The pediatrician still plays a large role. We just feel like we're part of the puzzle. So how much of the puzzle is the dentist, is the pediatrician, is the chiropractor, is the physical therapist. Might be different percentages at different parts in their life, but we wanna work as a collaboration and not it's either or.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah. And it's funny you bring that up because every conversation we've had, with practitioners on this show. Collaboration has come up. Mm-hmm. And that's because that is what we do. Yes. You know, traditionally I don't think anyone would've thought of a dentist and a chiropractor working together. Right. But we are treating whole bodies and, everything is connected. And so collaboration is key. We cannot fix everything just. You know, working on our own. I do love the sentiment of, you know, incorporating the pediatrician because to your point, yeah, they are a huge piece of the puzzle. And, I would imagine that that relationship has changed over time too. You know, their openness to, you know. Chiropractic care and, you know, even the type of treatment that I do,

Dr. Caroline Long:

right.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Because the, the landscape is totally changing, you know,

Dr. Caroline Long:

I also think the consumer is driving it, right? Yes, absolutely. And a lot of times the parents will come in and say, have you heard of this? Yes. And to have a provider say, I've never heard that in my life. They're like, Ooh, I need to go research it. I need to Google, I need to find some, articles about it. And so when. Parents start bringing that to our attention, then we're like, Hmm, that's a heads up. And I think that's how we met you. Yeah. We had parents who were saying, I've had great results with Dr. Gandhi. Dr. Gandhi is scheduled to do my kids' lip tie and tongue tie. And we're like, who is this Dr. Gandhi? Let's meet her. Let's set up a lunch with her so we can find out her philosophy.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah. No, exactly. And I, that has been a huge driver for our practice is, is the parents. Mm-hmm. And I, your point about social media I think is spot on because. It used to be we would go to someone and ask for a recommendation, and it was whatever information that person gave us at their discretion or their knowledge. And now there is no barrier to entry. It's I mean, you have to. Be discretionary yourself now, but, it is truly everything is out there for you to see. So, I think it, it's incredible, but it, we have to be careful about what we're putting out there. And I'm sure this happens to you, but some of my work in the office is, you know, giving people good education versus the education that they've. Acquired on their own from whatever resources. So I always like to know before going into a room, what do these people know and where do they get their information?'cause it gives me the opportunity to then, you know, tell them factual things., And one of the, one of the things that's still. Sort of newer information in my practice is the recommendation to do chiropractic care. Mm-hmm. Because to you and I, this is a pretty normal collaboration that's happening every day. But, you know, what we need to realize is most dental practitioners out there are still, are not collaborating with chiros and vice versa. You know, there's still many chiropractors in Houston that don't understand the care that you do.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Right.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

And the depth of it. Right. It's really the depth. You know, and that's where we have to continue to educate. I mean, that's where something like this comes in, because,, what I tell patients is you can't go to any chiropractor for your infant because we don't want them cracking and popping and doing all the things that they would do on an adult. Right. This extensive pediatric certification that you have, you know, is, is the reason we send to you, but also your years of experience, you know.

Dr. Caroline Long:

And we feel likewise to you too. You aren't just any pediatric dentist. The airway centric focus is huge. I mean, I cannot emphasize that enough. It's really expanded my scope of practice, , my knowledge base, my awareness and how I treat patients. And so I want to collaborate with people who are. Like yourself, learning from the latest technology, the, the best techniques, the, the, the research that's out there. It's hard in our field in chiropractic, we don't have sponsors to sponsor research. And if we said, let's do a double blind study where someone's going to get a tongue tie revision, but they're not going to have. Any kind of chiropractic or we do a sham chiropractic adjustment, like you're depriving somebody of something that could potentially aid in their healing and give them greater results. So, that's been a challenge.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Yeah. Yeah. But I think the proof is really in people that have it gone through the experience and see the difference and, you know, to me it totally makes sense. The, the field of chiropractic. Like it's, and that's what I have people say about when we explain airway development and how it's all connected. So many parents will say, yeah, this just makes sense.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Yes.' Dr. Piya Gandhi: If you just think about it, it makes sense. Yes.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

And so, you know, for, for people that are in Houston that need. Pregnancy and pediatric care. Your office is located right here in Bel Air.

Dr. Caroline Long:

We are, we're at, West U Wellness'cause we were in West U, we just moved one town over in Bel Air, literally just over the railroad drive. Um and so, we are at Bel Air and South Rice.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Awesome. And if someone is not located in Houston, but looking for pediatric pregnancy. What is the specific certification that they would be looking for in their chiropractor?

Dr. Caroline Long:

Yeah, that's tricky. We don't have a one and. Only like governing body or licensure. A lot of classes,, we learn from the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, the ICPA. They do a great job of teaching this coursework. And then, people who have taken craniosacral training, , Dr. Marty Rosen from Peak Potential, Carol Phillips, with Dynamic Body Balancing, Monica Berger. These are some of. The leaders in our field, in chiropractic, that offer seminars to really understand how the nervous system and the fascial system and the airway are all related.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Are there some questions that if that, if a parent is looking for a chiropractor for their child or infant, that they should ask? To make sure that the provider is the right fit.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Absolutely. I would say, what is your level of education? What is your training? How many years have you been working on babies and infants? Do you have a protocol? What is your protocol? What are the red flags? What are the parameters that you want to see before you say a child is ready for a tongue tie revision? What exercises do you send home with parents? And if they just have like a one page fact sheet, or if they're like, oh. You know, and they hesitate. I would be cautious, because each child is so unique. Mm-hmm. And, we wanna make sure that we are treating the children as individuals and not just like, absolutely. Oh, you are a left pla GSF Lee. You are a right, uh biblical tie. This is how we treat. No, there's, it's more complicated than that.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Okay. Awesome. Well thank you so much for your time today and being on with us. I really enjoy working with you and honestly, your entire team is fantastic.

Dr. Caroline Long:

Oh, thanks doctor.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

And I look forward to further collaboration.

Dr. Caroline Long:

I appreciate you so much. Thank you for your supportive chiropractic.

Dr. Piya Gandhi:

Absolutely.

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Dr. Piya Gandhi, DDS

Host
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Dr. Caroline Long, D.C., C.A.C.C.P., Perinatal Certified

Guest