About Us

primal-air

You may have seen us around the Sun Prairie area for over 30 years now, and we have a good idea about who you are too. A little about us, first of all, we are a mother/son team that wants to help the community to breathe better through facial exercises, called Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy or (OMT).

Darwinian Dentists have identified a huge decrease in the size of the sinuses (airway)
over the last 125 years. Primal Air, OMT, and Breathing Retraining focus on regaining that
lost ground.

My name is Shirley Gutkowski. I’m a nationally known author and international speaker. As America’s Dental Hygienist, my passion for prevention is practically legendary.

Good candidates for OMT or breathing retraining are identified by a good intake at your practice. Those who exhibit anxiety, sighing, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, or vague symptoms of pain or apprehensiveness are candidates.

Dental patients with a high vaulted maxilla, sleep apnea, mouth breathing, or habits like digit sucking, are also good candidates. Using OMT and Buteyko techniques will habituate the tongue to the roof of the mouth as a natural landing spot.

In children, the use of the tongue in this way

applies pressure to the maxilla to naturally increase its size. In adults, OMT can improve the quality of life by improving breathing and swallowing. Poor tongue placement or use can interfere with sinus development and nasal breathing. The floor of the sinus is also the roof of the mouth. Enlargement of lymphoid tissue may actually be a consequence as opposed to a cause of these initial dysfunctions.

Who's Behind Primal Air?

Shirley

Shirley Gutkowski, RDH, BSDH

Shirley Gutkowski is a practicing orofacial myofunctional therapist and Buteyko breathing educator practicing in Sun Prairie, WI. Since she was taught by world-renowned (OMT) expert Joy Moeller and breathing retraining based on Buteyko Breathing Retraining techniques taught by world-renowned Buteyko expert Patrick McKeown. She is nationally known as an author and international speaker. As America's Dental Hygienist her passion for prevention is practically legendary. She is seeing referral patients in her specialty practice on OMT and breathing retraining.

diane


Diane Romary

Diane attended Marquette University for dental hygiene and received her bachelor's degree from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. Her post-graduate course completion with the Academy of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy on the Laurel Heights campus of UCSF has given her an opportunity to teach people the basics of orofacial myology and the benefits of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy.

Elizabeth Dooher-Anthony

Beth has been a clinical Hygienist for 35 years, an OMT since 2018, and lives in Rochester, NY. She has experience working in general practice, periodontics, pedodontics and nursing homes.She is one of the first therapists to join Shirley at Primal Air, providing online therapy for patients around the world. She is also passionate about changing how practitioners approach difficult patients so everyone has a better experience. Her education in OMT made her realize dental fear is based in the inability to breathe. Many troublesome patient behaviors arise from protecting the airway.

Shirley & Shalom

Ready to Learn More?

We would love to schedule a time during a Learn Over Lunch or at the end of the day to explain further how OMT and Breathing through Primal Air can support your efforts to bring your patients to absolute health.

E: [email protected] | Ph: (608) 318-2800