Cristina Hantavis MS, CCC-SLP
Cristina Hantavis is a licensed and certified Speech and Language Pathologist with extensive training in the specialized discipline of Orofacial Myology. She has a passion for studying and treating all things related to airway to help patients take charge of their health, create new habits, and find relief from their pain.
As Cristina’s philosophy is that oral health is deeply connected to our general health, she takes a holistic approach that targets the whole body by working with the muscles of the face and mouth. Identifying the root cause of disorders including mouth breathing, tongue and lip ties, improper chewing and swallowing patterns, tongue thrust, and oral habits helps address symptoms such as headache, TMJ pain, speech sound errors, and poor sleeping habits. Cristina has made it her mission to help increase the awareness of orofacial myofunctional disorders and their health impacts so that children and adults, at any stage of their life, may begin to take actionable steps via holistic and collaborative care.
Before beginning her career in Orofacial Myology, Cristina worked for a decade in both private and elementary school settings with children experiencing moderate to severe cognitive, linguistic, and behavioral challenges. She brings a wealth of experience in witnessing firsthand how orofacial myofunctional therapy has helped her students, as well as her own two young children, thrive.
Cristina is continuously advancing her career by pursuing continuing education in courses and trainings, including Neo-Health Service’s Qualification in Orofacial Myology, Talk Tools’ Prevention of Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders in the 0-3 Population, Teaching Nasal Breathing for Increased Quality of Life, Oral Placement Therapy for Tongue Thrusts and Lisps, Identifying a Tongue Tie, The Power of the Jaw in Speech and Feeding, as well as Level 1 Biodynamic Manual Voice Therapy.