Myofunctional Therapy

What is Myofunctional Therapy?

Highly Effective Physical Therapy Exercises to Improve Breathing, Bite, and Orofacial Posture.

Myofunctional therapy is a treatment that examines how the tongue and oral muscles move and function. Many people experience low muscle tone and swallowing issues that can lead to health problems. Our Myofunctional Therapy Program involves exercises and therapies that help patients change habits and improve low muscle tone. This promotes proper tongue placement, breathing, speaking, chewing and swallowing, which can have a huge impact on their overall health and wellbeing.

If you’re experiencing any of the following, you may benefit from Myofunctional Therapy:

• A forward resting posture of the tongue between or against the teeth
• Sleep Apnea and/or Snoring
• Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome
• Low resting tongue
• Tongue-tie
• Tongue thrust
• Open bite
• Other harmful oral habits

Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders

Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders are often related to or can contribute to a variety of medical and dental disorders. These disorders can include:

• Malocclusion (improper alignment of the teeth)
• Periodontal disorders
• Orthodontic relapse
• Changes associated with abnormal jaw growth and position
• Sleep apnea

Schedule your Orofacial Myofunctional Evaluation today!

We examine many aspects of the airway during our myofunctional evaluation and therapy, including: 

• Jaw pain and dysfunction
• Head, neck and facial pain
• Snoring and sleep apnea
• Facial structure
• Habits such as thumb and finger sucking

What Can Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy Accomplish?

Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy involves an individualized program to help the patient retrain these adaptive patterns of muscle function, and to create and maintain a healthy orofacial environment. Treatment goals may include the following:

• Normalize tongue and lip resting postures
• Establish nasal breathing patterns
• Eliminate improper chewing and swallowing patterns
• Stabilize the dentition from extraneous orofacial muscle movement
• Address harmful oral habits including:
• Prolonged pacifier use
• Thumb and/or finger sucking
• Fingernail, cheek, or lip biting
• Tongue sucking
• Clenching or grinding of the teeth

Benefits of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy may include:

• Correcting and improving tongue and lip postures which can aid in the development of normal patterns of dental eruption and alignment.
• Assisting in the stabilization of the teeth during and/or after orthodontic treatment or jaw surgery
• Identifying the need and referring for Speech therapy.
• Balanced moods
• Clearer thinking
• Healthy energy
• Better facial symmetry 
• Reducing snoring 
• Ability to move oral muscles properly
• Increasing the tone and mobility of oral structures which can be damaged in sleep apnea patients
• Correct use of oral structures i.e. the tongue, lip and cheek muscles will help breathing, swallowing, suction and chewing

Schedule your Orofacial Myofunctional Evaluation today!